


No Time Like The Present

by PinkEasterEggs



Series: Back To The Future [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe of an Alternate Universe, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Darth Vader's A+ parenting, Force Visions, Force-Sensitive Leia Organa, Its An AU Within An AU, Its More Of A Formality, Mentioned Padmé Amidala, Parent Darth Vader, Past Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Skywalker Family Drama, Their Tag Isn't Major, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:33:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 39
Words: 267,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24754825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkEasterEggs/pseuds/PinkEasterEggs
Summary: In a Galaxy where Princess Leia Organa and Luke Vader have always known they were twins, a deadly discovery by their biggest enemy throws their entire lives upside down. Yet again.Now on the run from the Empire, the Skywalker twins find it their mission to bring peace back to the Galaxy once more. And with Darth Vader on their trail, that mission is far more complicated than they originally believed.(Can be read alone and not in a series)
Relationships: Leia Organa & Ahsoka Tano, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Luke Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Leia Organa, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Luke Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker (mentioned)
Series: Back To The Future [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1648657
Comments: 254
Kudos: 315





	1. Prologue Pt 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a "what if" to my other story Back To The Future and it focuses on what could've happened in the Galaxy had the twins not time travelled. It can be read as a "what if" or an Alternate Timeline or completely separate. The first chapter and a half are directly from Back To The Future so this fic can be read as a standalone and provide a backstory to the AU. 
> 
> Fun Fact: The reason I had Luke be raised by Vader in Back To The Future was because original this was the story I was going to write. I then changed my mind about doing a Skywalker Twins vs the Empire idea and wrote in the time travel concept instead.
> 
> This work will be included in the same series link as Back To The Future as they share the same background AU (the idea that the twins were raised by Obi-Wan for 10 years).
> 
> In this chapter, Luke and Leia are 12.

**4 years prior**

“Leia!” Bail’s voice echoed through the hall, an edge growing as he eyed the time. He’d sent the girl to get ready almost 2 hours ago, having hoped she would be ready to leave in time. No luck there apparently. “We have to go in 5 minutes!”

Leia heard her adopted father yelling, sighing to herself as she stared into the mirror of the refresher. “I’ll be out in a second,” she replied before turning back to stare at her face. Her skin looked too pale in this light with dark bags beginning to grow under her eyes due to her sleepless nights. Her brown eyes were accentuated through the use of eyeliner and mascara but not even makeup could save the haunted look she sported.

“Princess,” the voice of Leia’s closest handmaid, Winter, was soft as she spoke through the door. “You can’t be late— it will only cause further problems.”

Leia had half a mind to tell her friend that she didn’t even want to go to this stupid event so it wasn’t like she cared about being late, but she held her tongue. “Coming Winter,” she sighed again.

Almost 2 years of being a Princess for a prominent planet in the Galaxy and Leia was still not used to all the etiquette and expectations. She was dressed in a simple white dress, the style popular on Alderaan, with her long, brown hair twisted up into two large buns on either side of her head. She looked like royalty but to Leia, she just looked stupid. It was like dress-up— pretending to be someone she wasn’t.

All she had to do was twist her hair up into an elegant style, throw on an expensive dress and it was like she was a whole new person. The carefree girl who ran through Naboo’s fields as a child was gone, replaced by an Alderaanian Princess.

“There you are, with a minute to spare,” Bail smiled kindly down at the 12 year old, his breath momentarily taken by how alike she looked to her mother in that moment. Leia was the spitting image of Padme with her hair twisted up the way it was. (Bail backtracked for a second: Leia was always the spitting image of her mother no matter how her hair looked).

Leia resisted the urge to roll her eyes, instead throwing on her most sickly smile. Having lived with Bail for 2 years now, the man wasn’t completely accustomed to the girl’s sarcastic displays of affection (a fact which Leia abused). A smile to which Obi-Wan would have known was an act of attitude, Bail mistook for being genuine.

“Are you excited?” The man guided Leia towards the door and down to where their speeder was being prepped by the security detail. He was dressed in long-flowing blue robes, a stark contrast to Leia’s outfit.

“Not really,” Leia decided to opt for honesty as they climbed inside. She stared out the window as the speeder flew through Coruscant’s busy traffic lanes. There must be thousands of people in the sky right now, the Princess realised. It was her first time on the Imperial Capital and Leia couldn’t hold back her awe at all the skyscrapers and the busy life flowing around her.

Despite loving Coruscant, Leia hated the real reason for why they were there.

“I know this isn’t how you want to celebrate your birthday but you're older now and expectations are made for you. Attending the Empire Day Celebrations just marks your descent into adulthood and maturity.”

Leia had to bite down hard on her lip in order to stop the retort that sat on her tongue to escape. She was 12, for Force sake. As much as Leia wished she could just jump to adulthood right now, even she knew that turning 12 was hardly the start of her descent into adulthood.

“I know,” she said instead, dread pooling in her stomach as the sight of the Imperial Palace loomed ahead. In all honesty, Leia wished she were anywhere but here right now. Even if it wasn’t her birthday (and it sucked that her date of birth coincided with the founding of the Empire) she knew she would still hate the experience.

Being important public figures, both Leia and Bail were forced to attend the Empire Day Celebrations. All it is is a bunch of Senators and Imperial jackasses making speeches about how secure the Empire is (which it wasn’t since the Rebellion was quickly growing), how wonderful the Empire is (it didn’t take an idiot to know the Empire caused more harm than good) and how lucky everyone was (or how manipulated).

For the past 2 years Leia’s presence was not requested yet turning 12 apparently meant she was worthy of joining in the ‘festivities’. (She wished she were 11 again).

“You may even find you enjoy it,” Bail didn’t sound convinced as the speeder landed safely on the docking bay, with the security helping them out.

“Don’t hold your breath,” Leia mumbled as she followed Bail Organa through the long and slightly intimating halls of the Imperial Palace. She could hardly believe that 2 years ago, on this day, Leia had still been living on Naboo. Her life had been so much simpler when it was just her, Luke and Obi-Wan living in a hillside cabin on their mother’s home world. They’d spent this day swimming in the lake behind their house, baking a cake and curling up in front of the wood fire when the sun began to go down.

All of Leia’s childhood memories were like that. They were all rose-coloured and warm, feeling like a soft blanket whenever she looked back on her life previous to being a Princess.

(She pushed the memory away when she entered the ballroom; the last thing she wanted was to become melancholic in front of the Imperial elite).

Where the Imperial Palace’s halls had been dark and scary, the ballroom was startlingly bright with loud music playing and a diamond chandelier hanging in the centre. Everywhere Leia looked, she could see gold: gold pillars, gold decor and gold statues pressed against the brilliantly painted walls. It took her breath away.

“Not what you expected?” Bail smirked down at the soon to be teenager; because of her upbringing, Leia wasn’t used to such opulent wealth and he enjoyed the look of awe she normally sported.

“It’s . . “ brilliant, she wanted to say. Beautiful, dazzling, stunning.

Horrible.

She shook her head, reminding herself where she was. Leia was standing in the belly of the beast and just because it looked beautiful didn’t mean it really was. All this gold must’ve come from the taxes of the hardworking people who could only dream of ever stepping inside this ballroom.

If you dressed Jabba the Hutt up in a diamond necklace, he wouldn’t cease to be Jabba the Hutt anymore.

Leia was about to voice her disgust when the sudden appearance of someone new made her pause.

“Senator Organa,” a sleazy Imperial looked Bail up and down. He looked like every other Imperial in the room: taut with a serious expression and an air of wealth surrounding him. His hands were clasped behind his back and judging from the grey of his Imperial uniform, Leia knew he was a Grand Moff.

“Tarkin,” Bail bowed his head in greeting. He’d adopted the cold voice Leia knew he used as Senator, talking to a man that Leia knew to be evil. “I hope you are enjoying the festivities?”

“More than i’m sure you will,” Tarkin’s eyes looked hollow as he glared ever so slightly at Bail dressed in his Alderaanian blue robes. His cheeks were sunken in and when Tarkin turned his cold gaze onto Leia, she felt a shiver run down her spine. “And you brought the young Princess too; how charming.”

Leia stood up straighter, meeting the man’s gaze and refusing to look away. It was not hidden that Alderaan had been a key planet in the Republic, with Bail backing democracy even as the Empire was formed. With no evidence of Rebel involvement, the Organa’s had been allowed to continue their rule— but that didn’t mean they were liked in the Imperial Senate.

“I hope you are teaching your daughter the importance about her allegiance to the Empire, Senator.” Tarkin’s comment was full of bite.

“Of course. What other allegiance would she hold?” Leia had to stifle her amusement at Bail’s cool tone. (The truth was that she already had a small role to play in the Rebel Alliance, helping Bail in all she could).

“Exactly,” Tarkin’s eyes darted elsewhere, a small frown growing on his face. “Enjoy the party Senator, Princess.”

Once he was gone, Leia let out a small breath. “What a sleemo.”

“Leia,” Bail admonished. “Don’t use such language.”

Oh, Leia cringed. She’d forgotten for one second that she was a Princess. Princesses didn’t say such vulgar things. And Princesses from Alderaan wouldn’t even know what a sleemo was.

“Sorry.”

“Perhaps you would like to go socialise with other age mates?” Bail suggested as he grabbed a flute of champagne off of a serving droid’s platter. “It will give you a chance to escape Imperial nobility.”

Scanning the room, she could see a handful of young people around the vast room. They were all clumped in groups, some giggling whilst others stood there with stony looks on their faces. All Leia could see when she looked at them were the intricate and expensive designs of their suits and dresses or the way their hair was perfectly styled no doubt by a professional or experienced droid. They all reeked of money and privilege and Leia (who had never been rich before coming to Alderaan) hated them all for it.

“I think i’ll pass,” she muttered under her breath, just loud enough for Bail to hear.

“Leia,” he warned again.

“I don’t see why I have to socialise with them,” she tried not to pout as they moved further into the room.

“It is expected of you.”

It was times like now that Leia wanted to stomp her foot and say ‘yeah, so what?’. She’d never chosen this life. Had she asked to be a Princess? No. She’d been perfectly happy living on Naboo, running through fields and swimming in the lakes; enjoying her childhood. And then it had all been snatched from under her feet.

Leaving her here, in a dress that cost more than her old house and surrounded by people she couldn't stand.

“Senator Organa!” A man dressed in blindingly red robes waltzed over to them. He had blue skin and long tendrils, highlighting that he was a Togrutan. Bail’s smile was genuine as he approached, extending out his hand so they could shake and reunite as old friends.

Leia tuned out of their conversation, her mind wandering as she tried to dispel her anger. The last thing she wanted was for her temper to get the better of her, causing a scene no doubt she and Bail would both regret.

Drifting off, Leia thought of her home— her real home, back on Naboo. She could hear the lake running a few feet away from their home, smell the dewy grass in the morning and feel what it had been like to run barefoot in the garden. Luke had fallen out of the tree that had shielded most of their garden when they’d been 8, spraining his wrist in two places. Obi-Wan had taught them to swim in the shallow end of the lake. At night, they’d always curled up in front of the fire with hot Nubian cocoa and listened to Obi-Wan’s stories.

Looking back now, Leia knew how lucky she’d been. Even if it had just been for 10 short years, she would never regret a moment of it. Everyday, even the bad ones when she and Luke had been fighting, had been full of love and happiness.

 _“I have something very important to discuss with the two of you,”_ Obi-Wan’s voice had sounded pained on what Leia now knew to be their last night on Naboo. “ _Something very bad has happened— the Empire has finally taken complete control of Naboo. That means we are no longer safe, do you understand? If they find us, they’ll kill us. We’ve been lucky as it is, managing to survive 10 years here without detection.”_

 _“What’s going to happen?”_ Leia had felt the urge to cry at her guardian of 10 years words. _“Are we moving?”_

Obi-Wan had sighed heavily, his eyes looking upon them with sadness. “ _Yes, however we can’t stay together anymore. A friend of mine— a close friend of your mother’s— has kindly offered to adopt you Leia; he’s nice, you’ll like him. And Luke, your father’s step-brother has agreed to take you in, too. I hate that it has come to this but we have no other choice. Your safety is more important than anything, do you understand?”_

Leia could still hear the echoes of her and Luke's cries when the time had come for them to be separated. They’d kicked and screamed and begged for Obi-Wan to let them stay together. _“Let Luke come to Alderaan please!”_ She’d cried at Bail when the man had taken her aboard his ship, leaving Naboo behind forever.

 _“Your safety is more important than anything,”_ Obi-Wan had kept repeating over and over and over again, like he was trying to drill it into their brains.

(She had not seen nor heard anything from Luke nor Obi-Wan in the past 2 years since their separation).

(With each passing day, piece by piece the little part of her that remained as Leia Skywalker chipped away slowly).

“Leia!” Bail’s voice cut her out of her thoughts. He was staring at her like she’d grown a second head. “Senator Tunne just introduced himself to you.”

The time for living in the past was over, Leia collected herself as she curtsied elegantly. She was a Princess now. “My apologies, Senator. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

The Senator smiled in a warm way (Leia could see why Bail clearly liked him). “How are you enjoying your first Empire Day celebration?”

I would rather be anywhere else, Leia thought glumly. An image of Naboo once again popped into her head, sitting at the table as the sun began to fall, a large purple cake sitting right in front of her with two candles placed evenly on either side: one blue, one pink. She could almost see Luke’s wide smile, blonde hair falling into his blue eyes as he whispered the words “on the count of three— one, two—“

And then the memory faded away, replaced by this horror show that was Empire Day.

“It is truly magnificent,” Leia lied.

“Isn’t it just!” The Senator chuckled. “You remind me of my own daughter, she’s around your age— let me just get her.”

With the Senator gone, Leia let out a ragged breath. She was starting to loose her patience and energy with this day and it wasn’t even half-way through yet.

“This is my daughter Shala,” the Senator’s reappearance startled Leia. “This is her first celebration too.”

“Hello,” the girl smiled shyly, her blonde hair twisted up into what Leia was sure was a painful bun. Her blue skin was paler than her father's and judging by the childish features on her face, Leia guessed they were the same age.

“I like your dress.” Leia couldn’t help but say. Where all the other girls (par Leia) had gone for obnoxious looks, Shala was simply dressed in a red dress that touched her ankles with a slight belt wrapped around her waist.

“Thank you,” Shala blushed. “I like your hair.” Leia hated it but she nodded none the less, thanking her.

“How about you and your friend go mingle with the other girls?” Bail looked pointedly at Leia who had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Friend? They’d literally just met.

“We can get a drink if you want?” Shala spoke nervously, pointing to the fountain where a refreshing drink was being poured.

“A wonderful idea!” Shala’s father boomed and Leia decided anywhere was probably better than standing here.

“This is your first Empire Day celebration, too?” Leia asked as they headed away from Bail and his friend, purposely moving so they avoided any contact with other people their age.

“Yes, my father decided now that i’m 12 I should take more responsibility.” Judging by Shala’s tone, Leia could tell she wasn’t happy with it. She hummed in agreement.

“Give me the run down,” Leia sipped her drink once they reached the fountain. “Do you know any of these kids? Which ones do I avoid?”

“All of them,” Shala sighed, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face. “Most of them go to my school and they are . . . not very nice.” Leia cringed. “You see that girl?” Shala pointed to one of the stony faced girls who was wearing a gold dress with outstanding makeup. “She’s Grand Moff Tarkin’s niece— she’s bullied me for as long as I can remember.”

“I’m sorry,” Leia bit her lip, eyeing the girl beside her sadly.

“Not your fault.”

“You know, the trick is to never let them see it affects you.”

“I’m sure that would just egg her on more.”

“No,” Leia shook her head. “Most of the time bullies just want your reaction. Act like you don’t care, like what she says or does doesn’t bother you and she’ll give up. There’s no satisfaction if you don’t get a response.”

She remembered Obi-Wan telling her that when someone had been mean to her at school one day. Years later and Leia held that advice close to her heart.

Despite her reservations, Leia found herself actually liking Shala. The girl was down-to-earth and her shy demeanour meant she wasn’t overly proud of herself to the point of obnoxiousness. It was a cool fresh of air from what Leia was used to (except for Winter, perhaps).

It was as they were standing by the fountain that Leia felt it, like a cold shiver running up her spine. Darkness. A cold presence that cut right through her core and filled her with despair. The Force around him shifted, bending to his will and Leia felt ill at how much hatred and anger he had surrounding him.

Vader was here. (Which made sense considering he was the Emperor’s Right Hand Man).

Ever since she’d been a child, Leia had known the truth about her father. Out of the twins, Leia had been the one with the worst temper and quicker to anger. She’d broken many things in a fit of rage. Luke had always jokingly called her a hot-head but Leia knew her temper always worried Obi-Wan.

Telling Luke and Leia about their father’s fall to darkness hadn’t just been about remaining honest to the children Obi-Wan was raising but instead, he turned Anakin Skywalker’s story into a cautionary tale.

For Leia knew that Obi-Wan would’ve never recovered if either twin succumbed to the Dark Side the way their father had.

As Leia watched Vader across the hall, his long black cape trailing behind him and his helmet fixed upon his head like the menacing figure he was, she realised that this was the closest she’d ever been to her birth father. He hadn’t been there for her birth nor had she ever run into him as her time as Princess. He was just a stranger to her yet his blood ran through her veins.

She wasn’t sure if she was meant to fear him or not. Anakin Skywalker was a man that Leia wished she’d known but he was long dead, replaced by the walking monster her father now was. Vader was a killing machine, a monster with no remorse and a far cry from the man he used to be.

Would he recognise her if he saw her? Would he see her mother staring back at him, her features slightly harder due to Skywalker influence and filled with youth? Would he look into her eyes and see the same fire he used to share? See the way her smile was identical to how his had been or how she was a replica of her mother when she frowned?

Leia wasn’t sure but she didn’t want to find out.

“Oh no!” Shala’s voice startled Leia so much she almost spilt her drink. “Hide me!”

“What?” Leia moved her eyes from Vader to the cringing girl beside her. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s here! I knew he would be but oh stars! Why did I have to wear this dress? I should’ve picked something cuter!”

“Your dress is nice,” Leia frowned. “What are you even talking about?”

“He’s here!”

“Who?”

Shala pointed to a boy standing a few feet away from them, his back was turned so all they could see was a head full of blonde hair. He was talking to Tarkin’s niece— Leia already didn’t like him.

A wry smile slid across her face. “Is that your boyfriend?”

“I wish,” Shala blushed, her blue cheeks going purple. “I’m pretty sure Tamara has her eyes on him so I wouldn’t stand a chance!”

“Tamara?”

“Tarkin’s niece,” Shala swallowed heavily. Yeah, Leia decided, I really don’t like him then. Any boy who would fall for a Tarkin must honesty be a nerfherder.

“How long have you liked him?” Leia took another sip of her drink.

Shala’s blush deepened. “A year and a half— ever since he joined my school.”

“Wow, that’s a long time.”

“I’m pathetic,” Shala sighed. “I know.”

“No, no,” Leia shook her head. “I didn’t mean it that way. Have you ever spoken to him?”

“Once,” the teen admitted. “We bumped into each other in the corridors— all my books went flying! He helped pick them all up and he gave me the cutest smile and apologised, even though it was all my fault!”

“He sounds nice,” Leia smiled back at her friend. “Maybe you should go up to him now?”

Shala looked like she was about to puke. “What? I can’t do that!”

“He sounds like a nice person; you could introduce yourself by reminding him of how you met. I’m sure he’d probably laugh if you made it into a joke. Bump into him— pretend to only just recognise him and then say something like: ‘well at least i’m not carrying any books this time!’.”

“You overestimate me.”

“I think you underestimate yourself.”

Shala bit her lip. “Even if I wanted to do that, he’s over there with Tamara. I’m pretty sure she’d kill me if I spoke to him.”

“He isn’t her property,” Leia frowned.

“He is to Tamara.”

Leia rolled her eyes. “How do you know if he even likes her back?”

“Tamara gets what Tamara wants,” Shala sounded sad. “She’s the Queen of school and Tarkin’s niece— it would make sense that she would date Lord Vader’s son.”

It was like ice was poured down her back, her eyes widening just a fraction as the urge to be sick rose up to her chest. What did Shala just say? Vader’s . . . son? No, that was impossible. There was only one person in the Galaxy who could be Vader’s son and he was currently on Tattooine.

Leia once again turned her attention to the boy Shala liked, properly watching him this time as she took in his every move. His back was still turned, his head full of blonde hair slightly scruffy at the back. He wasn’t tall by any means and his posture was terrible (Leia noticed these things after her etiquette lessons). She tried telling herself it was impossible— there were a trillion short boys with blonde hair in the Galaxy, it just simply couldn’t be him . . .

But something in Leia just told her that it was. The part of her mind where Luke's bond lived, sparked like a match being lit. After 2 years of silence that threatened to swallow her whole, a faint whisper of Luke's mind once again slotted back into place.

Leia swallowed heavily, doing everything to make her voice not wobble. “Shala . . . what is the boy’s name?”

Her new friend didn’t notice her uneasiness. “Luke Vader.” So, he’d changed his name just like she had. Gone were the Skywalker twins, replaced by the Princess of Alderaan and an Imperial Prince. How times had changed.

Despite the circumstances, Leia allowed herself to be happy. Her brother was once again near her, just within reach after 2 years of missing him. It had been like a part of her soul had been split from her the day they left Naboo, the connection she’d shared with him ripping down the middle as they’d gone their separate ways.

 _Luke_ , she wanted to whisper through their Force connection like they had as kids. But with Vader so close, Leia didn’t dare attempt using the Force. (That was a one way ticket to death, surely).

Should she go over and say hi? For the first time in a long time, Leia was at a loss. Luke was her brother, yes, but here he was just a stranger. She couldn’t bound over to him and hug him like her life depended on it (although that was all she wanted to do).

“Do you have a Holo-pen?” Leia suddenly turned to Shala, interrupting her spiel on how horrible Tamara Tarkin was and how she never had a chance with Luke in the first place (ew).

“Uh, what?” The girl paused but Leia was already rounding on a passing droid.

“Do you have a Holo-pen?”

“Ah the young finding the necessities for technology of the past,” the droid produced an old Holo-pen, holding it out for Leia to take. She just shook her head at the droids weird words before quickly grabbing a napkin and writing her message down in block letters.

“Leia, what are you doing?” Shala frowned, trying to read whatever Leia had written down.

“Sorry,” Leia was far too focused on what she was about to do next to give the girl a proper apology. “I need the refresher, bye!” It was a shame really, Leia supposed. Shala seemed like a nice person.

On her way to the refresher, Leia paused by another droid. She handed over the napkin, pointing in the direction she’d just come where Luke stood with his friends. “Give this to the blonde boy, will you?”

“Certainly, m’lady,” the droid rolled off in the direction of her brother.

Hurry Luke; Leia bit her lip as she squeezed through the Imperial crowd to the corridor beside the refresher. She was getting agitated now, something like anxiety grappling at her as she waited for the long-awaited reunion with her brother. 2 years seemed like such a long time when it was spent missing someone with all your heart.

Leia wasn’t sure how long she waited for but with each passing second, dismay grew and grew. He wasn’t coming. Did he get her note? Did he just brush it off? Maybe she should’ve signed her name at the end so he knew it wasn’t some creepy girl truing to get him alone by the refreshers.

She was just about to leave, the idea of storming into the party and dragging Luke by his ear to this spot crossing her mind, when the sound of footsteps got louder and louder.

“Uh hello?” Luke’s all too familiar voice echoed through the corridor. “Who’s there? You gave me a note to meet you here? Please don’t kill me.”

Tears grew in Leia’s eyes, a happiness she hadn’t felt in a long time once again stirring in her chest. “Luke,” she whispered, stepping out from the shadow she’d been hiding in.

Her brother paused, his skin paling as he made eye contact with Leia for the first time in 2 years. They both looked significantly older: the slight chubbiness of Luke’s cheeks were gone and he’d, by now, grown into his nose. His hair was slightly darker too, having gone from sunshine blonde to the same dirty shade Anakin had sported.

“Leia— why . . .”

“Empire Day Celebrations,” she shrugged, blinking away the tears so she could see her brother better. Standing closer to him now, she could tell he was taller than her. They’d always been an even height as kids but it seemed, despite them both still being on the smaller side, he’d grown a little more than she had. “Bail and I are forced to attend.”

Something went slightly dark in Luke’s eyes at the mention of Bail. She wondered if it was like a slap to the face to remind Luke of the man who’d taken her from him. It was not lost on the both of them how unfair it was that Leia had been adopted by a Senator and a Queen whilst Luke had been shipped off to a backwater planet.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Luke seemed to be at a loss of words. “After all this time . . .”

“I’ve missed you so much,” she bit her lip, feeling the tears run down her cheeks as they finally broke free. “It felt like—“

“A part of you was missing,” Luke cut her off. “Yeah I know.”

Leia didn’t hesitate after that as she raced forward, throwing herself into Luke’s embrace and holding him like she was afraid someone would come and rip them apart again. She felt like the jigsaw that was her heart had finally been put together with its missing piece.

Luke sniffled against her shoulder, his arms tightening around her as Leia squeezed back just as tight. She could feel their Force connection strengthen once again, their bond stitching itself back together as the twins refused to let one another go.

‘ _You’re living with Vader_ ’, Leia sent through the link, her words echoing around Luke’s mind as if she’d never left. It wasn’t a question— they both knew she knew.

‘ _Yeah_ ’, Luke sent back, his voice sounding warm and . . . like home, Leia realised. Naboo had never been her home. The house by the lake with the tall tree hanging over the garden had never been her home.

Luke was.

Obi-Wan was.

But then they’d both left her and she’d been alone the past 2 years.

‘ _How_?’

‘ _He found me on Tatooine_ ’, Luke admitted. ‘ _I’ve been living with him for a year and a half now.’_

_‘He hasn’t hurt you?’_

_‘Our father is many things, Leia, but he’s not a child abuser.’_ Luke sounded offended at the thought.

‘ _Oh forgive me,’_ she mentally rolled her eyes. _‘That’s right, he’s a murderer and a torturer but of course he isn’t a child abuser too! How silly of me.’_

Luke pulled out of the hug, his eyes serious as he held onto his twin’s shoulder. “There’s good in him,” her brother spoke with his heart. “He’s not perfect— far from it— but he takes care of me and i’m safe with him.”

Leia nodded. All she could do was trust Luke’s words.

“You aren’t being trained as a Sith?”

Luke smirked, letting out the playful laugh Leia didn’t know she needed to hear until she did. “Nope. Father doesn’t even know that Obi-Wan trained us with the basics as children; he thinks i’ve never used the Force before in my life. Actually,” Luke paused, throwing Leia a playful grin. “He doesn’t know about Obi-Wan at all.”

“He doesn’t know you were raised by a Jedi?”

“Probably for the best,” Luke admitted. “He thinks I lived all my life with Owen and Beru on Tatooine. He knows nothing of Naboo or Obi-Wan . . . or you.”

“Good,” Leia nodded. She squeezed her brother’s hand. “That’s just ours.”

Luke nodded, smiling again. “I can’t believe you’re here. Happy birthday, little sister.”

Leia groaned, feeling the familiar itch of annoyance that only Luke could create. “2 minutes does not count!”

“What, like the two inches of height I have over you doesn’t count either? Ow!” Luke rubbed his arm where his sister had punched him. “That hurt!”

“It was meant to,” she teased. “Happy birthday, Luke.”

After 2 years, Leia felt whole.


	2. Prologue Pt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first two parts of this chapter is taken directly from Back To The Future but after the second line break, that is when this fic starts and it diverges from the Time Travel AU. You don't need to read Back To The Future in order to understand this AU as it can be read as a standalone. 
> 
> Luke and Leia are 15 in this chapter.

**Last year**

The Chronometer by Leia’s bed read that it was currently 23:04. They’d gotten back from the Empire Day Celebrations a little under an hour ago with Bail having gone straight to bed. As Leia strained her ears, she could just about hear the sound of snores coming from a few rooms away.

 _Perfect_ , she thought as she climbed out of bed. Throwing on a black tunic and matching pants, Leia reached for her heavy cloak before she tiptoed out of her room. It was dark inside Bail’s Coruscant apartment, all the lights were off and Leia had to get help from the Force to guide her to the elevator without tripping over any of the furniture. The last thing she wanted or needed was to get caught _before_ her plan could commence. If she got caught afterwards then at least Leia got to have a few hours of freedom before her never-ending punishment commenced.

It was hard to sneak around the guards that Bail hired whenever they visited Coruscant (as if men holding blasters would be much help if Vader or the Emperor discovered who Leia was and decided to attack), but Leia was far more capable than she looked. It took a little Force manipulation, something she knew Obi-Wan would've frowned upon, and Leia was able to sneak past the guards completely undetected. As soon as she was out of sight and ear-shot, she broke into a sprint. No one even batted an eyelid as to why a young girl was running through Coruscant's air pathways at such a late hour.

Although Coruscant had nothing on Alderaan or Naboo for beautiful landscapes, Leia had warmed to the planet over the years. No matter the time, Coruscant was alive. Speeders whizzed around in the sky at high speeds and the lights of buildings shone so bright that it hurt to look at them for too long. With every path Leia took, she spotted a thousand different species of people all dressed in their own culture's styles, walking with all the confidence they had.

It didn't take long for Leia to reach the large Mall complex that had become the designated spot for the twins' rendezvous. The time on her wrist chronometer read that it was 23:24, meaning Luke shouldn't be too long soon. The smell of food wafting from inside the Mall made Leia's mouth water and she silently wished her brother would hurry up. Her feet started to tap along with the sounds coming from the Arcade inside the building behind her.

Almost like Luke had heard her silent call, the familiar form of her brother rounded the corner, running at full speed to where Leia stood. His hair was wrangled and his cheeks pink but the smile on his face was one Leia could remember distinctly from her childhood. "Hi!" Luke skidded to a stop only a centimetre from where Leia stood but his sister didn't so much as wince. She'd known he wouldn't crash into her.

“Hey Luke,” Leia smiled back, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at how little he'd prepared in hiding his appearance. Where Leia had her hood pulled over her face to avoid detection, Luke stood there with his dirty blonde locks on show and face open for all to see. “Did you manage to sneak out fine?”

“Father left straight after the Celebrations to sort out some mess on Ryloth or something. What about Bail?”

“Fast asleep,” Leia turned on her heel, entering inside the Mall so she could find whatever restaurant was serving what smelt so delicious. Her stomach rumbled loudly, pushing her to increase her steps and order some of the food that was teasing her nostrils. “He probably won’t wake up till early morning, at least.”

“Father’s gone for a few days,” Luke followed his sister’s lead as they stepped onto an escalator. “So timing is fine with me. As long as I'm back before school tomorrow, no one should really know.”

Leia wished it didn't have to be this way. She wished they didn't have to count the hours and minutes they had to share before parting ways but she knew it couldn't be avoided. It was a miracle they were able to sneak out when they could. She feared the day Bail caught her either coming or going in the apartment and put a stop to their secret rendezvous.

“I saw you during the speeches today,” Leia recalled the moment, trying to bring her mind out of melancholy. She'd been in Bail's hub, as usual, and had managed to spot both Vader and Luke standing in the empty doorway a few hub's over. “You looked so bored.”

Luke rolled his eyes as they sat down in a booth of one of the Mall’s restaurants. He picked up a menu, scanning the contents even though Leia knew he would just order a burger anyway. “Politics is so boring, that’s why.”

“Everything they say is lies,” Leia thought back to the Emperor's long and falsely empowering speech. “Security and peace . . . they’re describing the Old Republic— something they threw away!”

“Let’s calm it,” Luke chuckled at how passionate she got. “I know you’re a Senator in training but unless you can’t tell, I don’t care enough for politics to go into this with you.”

“You just know you can’t beat me in a fight,” Leia stuck out her tongue.

“In a verbal fight, no,” her brother admitted, shaking his head. “In a physical fight . . . nah, probably not.”

“What can I get you two?” The waiter droid rolled over, pen and paper ready to write in its hand.

“I’ll have a burger and fries, please,” Luke didn’t skip a beat.

“Green lasagne, please,” Leia handed over their menus as the droid rolled off to relay their orders.

Luke pulled a face. “A green lasagne, yuck!”

“What?” Leia rolled her eyes at his antics. “It’s healthy!”

“The Leia I remember used to eat dozen of burgers and finish off my fries!”

“Yeah, when I was 10!” Leia rolled her eyes.

Much had changed in the 5 years since they’d been separated. At 15, the twins looked far more like adults than they did the children who’d left Naboo in a hurry. Luke’s blonde hair was a proper dirty blonde shade, cut slightly too short but still suiting him. His features were more chiseled out, his chin sharper and all the baby fat he’d possessed gone. The only thing Leia knew would never change were his piercing blue eyes.

Leia, too, had changed. Her skin was still just as pale as normal, her hair colour the same shade it had always been but where her eyes had once looked haunted, she now looked serene. Her jaw was more defined now and her nose no longer stuck out in an awkward adolescent angle. Everyday she looked more and more like her mother whilst Luke grew to be a clone of Anakin.

It was now the 3rd Empire Day that the twins had spent together, sneaking out of their respective homes as soon as possible so they could eat in the Mall and celebrate their birthday together. It wasn't the same as the birthdays of their past when Obi-Wan baked a large cake for the twins to share but they'd take anything over nothing. 

But no matter how happy they both were to act like themselves again, if only for a few hours, it still broke their heart when the next day came. The sun would rise on Coruscant and Leia would be forced to go back to Alderaan whilst Luke returned to the Imperial Palace. The only thing keeping them going to be the thoughts that they could see each other again in a years time.

It seemed like a cruel joke that they only got to spend hours with each other each year, waiting a whole yearly cycle just to say the words “Happy birthday” as they munched on food that wasn’t cake.

“What do you think mom was like?” Leia asked just as their food arrived. It was like an unspoken tradition for the twins to participate in: Leia would ask what Luke thought their mother would be like and her brother would reply with the nicest words possible. Sometimes his guesses would border extreme, with one of his answers of the past having been " _I bet she was fierce and tamed a giant monster with nothing but her own hands and a blaster!"_ Other times his guesses were made in jest (" _I bet she used to eat Naboo pickles straight from the jar_!")

It wasn't something Leia had ever asked Obi-Wan, however; the tradition had only been between her and Luke's imagination.

Today, Luke settled on an answer he knew would please his sister. “I bet she was the nicest woman in the Galaxy,” Luke bit down on his burger, trying to imagine the woman that been Padme Amidala. "I bet everyone she met loved her and she would stop at nothing to help people in need." Despite living with his father, Luke was never encouraged to talk about his mother. Vader had admitted to his son his deep pain on losing Padme Amidala and made it perfectly clear that any and all topics about her were void.

“What do you think she would’ve thought about all this?”

“About what?”

Leia played with her food, no longer hungry. Her stomach flipped as she thought about a woman she'd never known. “This— us. Her children separated, spending mere hours together each year.”

Luke paused, something like dread weighing him down. “Stop torturing yourself with this Leia. We don’t know how she would feel and we never will. You’re just grabbing at straws and it’s making you sad.”

“No, it’s not!”

“Yes it is, Mom always makes you sad. You look in the mirror and all you can see is her. You’ve been this way ever since you’ve been a kid.”

She paused, biting her lip. It was true that with each passing day, Leia resembled Padme Amidala more and more. As a child she'd been giddy to know that she'd taken after her mother more in looks but as Leia had grown, all she'd started to notice was the shadow of her mother on her face. The eyes of a woman long gone stared back at her and Leia was always hit with how much she'd lost.

“I have somewhere I want to show you,” Leia threw her napkin on the table, standing up without hesitation. Her mind was made up now. Impulsiveness bounced through her blood as she glared down at Luke. Every cell in her body was telling her to _go, go, go_. It wasn't in her nature to stop and pause.

“Leia, what?” Luke had his mouth full of food. He looked almost comical with wide eyes and a confused expression as he finished his burger.

“Come on, there’s somewhere I want to go.”

“Is it so important that we can’t finish our food? You haven’t even touched that lasagne disgustingness over there.”

“Luke,” Leia placed her hands on her hips and used the tone he knew all too well. “Let’s go.”

Luke let out an annoyed sigh, throwing the rest of his burger down on the plate as he forked out a few credits to cover their unfinished meals. “Lead the way, Your Highness.”

* * *

“Leia, what the hell are you doing?” Luke hissed, looking over his shoulder as his sister began playing with the wires on a door release. When Leia had demanded Luke follow her, he’d been expecting she take him to some quiet park or perhaps even the Mall arcade. But no, instead she’d forced him to trek half an hour to some tall, apartment building complex that wasn’t too far from the Senate. They’d travelled up the elevator before stepping out at the penthouse where Leia was now trying to break and enter.

“I’ve almost got it,” Leia mumbled, connecting a few wires together which sent the double-doors to slide open with a loud whoosh. “Bingo!”

“This is illegal!” Luke did nothing but watch open-mouthed as his sister walked inside. “Have you lost your mind?”

“Relax Luke,” Leia turned to face her brother, rolling her eyes. “The penthouse of the Old Republic’s Senate Apartment Complex has been deserted for 15 years.”

“It’s still illegal to break in!” Luke hissed again but when his sister shrugged and explored further inside, he groaned before following. He’d barely stepped inside when the lights suddenly switched on. It was old, yes, but it was beautiful.

The veranda was wide and spacious, looking out on Coruscant’s traffic as the speeders flew by. The leather seats were plush and the decor was both exquisite yet modest. As Luke looked around, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge in his gut. Something wasn’t right. The Force was pulling around him, the pressure weighing in his mind.

“Leia!” He called out to his sister, turning around but not seeing her in sight.

“I’m upstairs!” She called back, her voice nothing but a mere mumble. Luke followed her Force presence up the stairs, walking into what he realised was the living area and bedrooms. The carpeted floor was a nice blue and as Luke followed Leia into the Master bedroom, he paused at what he saw.

“Leia?”

Tears ran down Leia’s face as she stood outside the large walk-in wardrobe embedded into the bedroom. Clothes still hung from hangers, the delicate and impressive dresses all barely missing the floor. Shoes were lined up neatly, one for at least every colour and style. Whoever lived here must’ve been really rich, Luke thought.

“Leia, why’re we here?” His voice was soft but the confusion nagging at him was starting to make Luke loose his patience.

“This was our mother’s apartment,” she swallowed heavily, wiping away the tears as Leia stretched out a hand to gently brush her mother’s Senate dresses and cloaks. They were all so beautiful . . . Leia could almost imagine a woman who looked just like her wearing these as she fought for a peaceful end to the war that had orphaned both Luke and herself.

“We shouldn’t be here.”

“Did you not hear me?” Leia shot back, her voice catching for a second. “Our mother lived here. This could’ve been our home.”

Luke stepped forward, tentatively placing a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “But it isn’t. There’s no point dwelling on what could have been. We had a home, remember?”

“But this could’ve been it!” Leia sobbed, tightening a fist in one of her mother’s dresses. It was large and bulky and must’ve been extremely heavy to wear. “I just want to stay here for a little bit,” she sniffed. “I know you always say to move on and focus on the now, not the past, but I need this. Okay?”

“Okay,” Luke nodded. He could see how much this meant to his sister. All her life, their mother had been a missing piece of Leia’s puzzle, the hole she’d left behind always open and acceptable to pain. Where Luke focused on his Father, creating a relationship with the man, Leia had no way of mending the bond she and Padme shared.

Luke watched as his sister pulled the dress off the hanger, feeling like he was invading some kind of mother-daughter moment as Leia climbed onto the bed, pulling the dress over her like blanket.

“I miss you mom,” Leia whispered into the dress, closing her eyes as a few more tears slipped out.

As Luke followed suit, climbing onto the bed next to his sister, he suddenly felt very creeped out by his mother’s apartment. The bed was made and the furniture was preserved; it was like someone had gone out of their way to freeze this apartment in time to make it look as if Padme Amidala still lived here. The apartment was long abandoned but the lingering hope that their mother would walk through those doors hung in the air.

It was a hope Luke knew would never get answered.

* * *

When Luke woke up, the early rays of sunshine were peaking through the window; speeders flew past as per usual of Coruscant and it took Luke a second to gather his bearings. He was laying on a large bed in an unfamiliar room and beside him, his sister was still fast asleep. For a second, Luke thought he was back on Naboo and he half-expected Obi-Wan to burst in and announce breakfast being served.

But then Luke remembered that it had been 5 years since he’d seen Obi-Wan and that yesterday had been his birthday, hence why he’d been reunited with Leia for their annual secret celebrations. His comlink buzzed as Luke sat up and he sleepily pulled it out his pocket, mindful he not wake Leia. She was sleeping soundly next to him, a few tear tracks dried on her face as her hands clutched tightly to the fabric of their mother’s old dress.

“Luke?!” The sudden voice of one of his father’s assistants brought Luke out of his sleepy state. Leia moved at the sound but slept on. “Where in all Corellia’s Hells are you?!”

“Uh . . .” He quickly moved out of the room; he knew that if Leia woke up and made a loud complaint about the noise then he’d be screwed. “What do you mean?” Playing dumb was usually in Luke’s forte but his ability to act was skewered by his sleepy mind.

“Your father has called several times and he contacted me when he received no reply! I just checked your room and you aren’t in there! So where are you? Did you sneak out last night? Where did you go?”

There had been a time in Luke’s life that he’d liked the fact that his father’s assistants were there to look out for him. He’d liked the fact that when his father left on missions for the Empire that there was always an adult around to care for him. They’d never been strict and usually reported the slightest of problems to his father like snitches but they’d cared for Luke and he’d appreciated that.

Now, he saw it as a curse.

“I, uh, left early to see a friend,” Luke cringed after he’d said it, knowing his attempt at lying was poor. Leia used to say that Luke was as clear as glass and even in the years of their separation, he’d not gotten any better at lying.

His father’s assistant, Lieutenant Rossi, a Twi’leck female with pale orange skin, didn’t sound pleased as she disregarded his lie. Luke could almost see the frown on her usually stony face; she was one of the nicest people he’d ever met but was extremely strict when necessary and Luke could see why she’d become the senior carer who overlooked Luke when his father was away.

“So you decided to go visit a friend at 0500 hours, despite the fact that in 3 hours you are expected at school and would see them then anyway?” Lieutenant Rossi’s voice was slow as she relayed his lie. Luke could already hear the massive lecture she was queuing up to relay when he inevitably returned home.

But there was no way he could back out now so he just cringed and replied with: “yes”.

“And which friend’s house are you at? I would like to call their parents to apologise for your early visit.”

Luke could’ve slapped himself. “I’m, uh, no longer there— I’m actually on my way home. So calling them will be pointless.”

Lieutenant Rossi paused and Luke hoped she didn’t press the point further. Just when Luke thought his death was sealed, she let it go. “Very well. I expect you to walk through Palace security in the next 15 minutes, do you hear me? I’ll inform your father that I’ve located you so I expect you prepare a better story for him when he calls.”

“Thanks LR,” Luke sighed, hoping that by using her affectionate nickname that she would cut him some slack when he arrived back.

“15 minutes, Luke,” she warned before ending the call. Luke felt a shiver run up his spine as he thought about the trouble he was about to receive from Lieutenant Rossi and his father in the next few hours. He could kick himself for blindly following Leia to their mother’s apartment and not demanding they leave sooner. It seemed just his luck that they’d both fall asleep and be caught out in their sneaking out.

“Leia!” Luke watched as his sister startled awake, his loud yell making her jolt. “Wake up!”

His twin looked around wildly and he could see the clogs in her head spinning as her memory caught up to her on why they were dozing on their mother’s old bed. Her hands clutched more tightly around the dress that she’d been using as a blanket. “Luke? What’s wrong?”

“It’s 5 in the kriffin’ morning Leia, that’s what’s wrong! My father has been contacting me and one of his assistants just found out that I’m not at home! I’m in _so_ much trouble and it’s all because you dragged me here!” He ran a hand through his hair; there was no way he was getting back before the 15 minutes Lieutenant Rossi set up so he could kiss his freedom for the next 5 years goodbye.

And he still had to expect a call from his father which no doubt would be as close to an interrogation as Vader would get with his son.

Leia’s eyes widened at his words as she pulled out her own comlink to check he was telling the truth. “Kriff! Bail will be up soon! If he realises I’m gone then I’m dead!”

“My father already knows I’m gone so I’ve already been killed,” Luke groaned. How could he have fallen asleep? _Stupid_!

“I guess we better hurry,” Leia frowned as she hastily got off the bed and moved to their mother’s wardrobe to return the dress.

“What are you doing? Let’s go! Leave the dress and let’s get out of here!”

“No! Look around this place, Luke, there’s no dust or anything! Someone obviously cleans this place frequently and if they notice things are out of place it will raise suspicion.”

“So?” Luke could feel himself getting agitated. If his father called before Luke was back at home, then he may as well say his goodbyes to Leia now.

“So . . . who do you think is paying for the service, Luke? Obviously it’s Vader! If he wasn’t a sick monster who I refuse to acknowledge as my father, I would almost say it’s romantic and emotionally upsetting that he’s trying to preserve his late wife’s apartment.”

“And what does that have to do with you covering our steps?”

Leia gave her brother a long-suffering look over her shoulder as she hung up her mother’s dress. “Who do you think he’ll pin the blame on first? His wife’s apartment is broken into on the same night his son snuck out!”

“I’m not embarrassed to be here!” Luke frowned. “If he knows I broke in then he’ll be mad, sure, but could he blame me for wanting to be here?”

“But it could lead back to me!” Leia sighed. “If he looks into it properly, I’m sure there must be some kind of evidence or security footage which shows us together. Why would you get the help of an Alderaanian Princess to break into your dead mother’s apartment? That’s the question Vader will ask.”

“But he won’t know you’re my sister.”

“No?” Leia wondered how Luke couldn’t connect the dots like she did. “I’m a splitting image of our mother! He hasn’t guessed it before because the idea of twins is probably unfathomable! But can Vader really deny the facts if he sees footage of us together, conversing like old friends despite meaning to be strangers?”

Luke paused, understanding Leia’s point. “Fine we’ll cover our tracks. But can we hurry?”

It didn’t take long to hide any evidence of them being there, considering they hadn’t touched or moved much before falling asleep. If anything, the hardest task was to recalibrate the door lock so it didn’t look like anyone had touched it nor entered in the time that the cleaner had been away. Thankfully for the twins, Luke’s hack for mechanics was perfect and by the time they left, they doubted anyone would know they’d been there.

“Keep your head down,” Leia hissed as they navigated their way through Coruscant’s pathways, heading towards their respective homes. It was nearing 6am and the amount of people walking around were growing in size, meaning more chance of them getting spotted or recognised. Especially since Luke hadn’t brought a cloak and his face was on show for all to see.

“I am,” Luke hissed back, staring down at the floor as he used the Force to help navigate himself around.

With all the stress at Luke getting caught and Leia knowing the time was getting slim before she was caught too, the fact that they were about to be separated once again for a whole year had gone over their heads. But when Leia paused at a junction which would take her to the apartment she and Bail were staying out whilst Luke was preparing to head in a different direction, she was suddenly hit with the fact it was time to say goodbye.

It didn’t feel like a proper goodbye for Leia knew that she would see Luke again in a year but as she geared herself up to leave, she was hit with how unfair the situation was. She shouldn’t have to leave her brother. They shouldn’t be separated forced to pretend that they didn’t know one another. He was the only family Leia had (and acknowledged) and he was being taken from her.

“I guess I’ll see you in a year?” Luke swallowed heavily, refusing to let his emotions best him. It wouldn’t look good for him to return home puffy-eyed with tears staining his cheeks. “Stay safe, yeah?”

“I’ll miss you,” Leia whispered back, trying to remind herself that it wouldn’t always be this way. One day, hopefully not too far in the future, she and Luke would be reunited once and for all. There would be no more sorrowful goodbyes nor any denial in their relationship. She’d be able to call him her annoying brother in public and one day be Aunty Leia, just like he’d be Uncle Luke.

The sacrifices they were making now were for a better future.

“Ditto,” Luke’s smile was tight lipped. “On the count of three, yeah? One . . .”

“Two . . .”

They never hugged when they said goodbye for they’d both acknowledged that would be too hard. It was better to count to three and walk away. Like the strangers they were meant to be.

Luke sucked in a deep breath, knowing no matter what punishment his father gave him, it would never be able to beat this. “Three.”

And they both turned around and walked without either of them looking back.


	3. The End of the Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought it would be mean to post the previous prologue chapters without the real first chapter of this AU so please enjoy :)
> 
> Luke and Leia are 16 in this chapter and 16 throughout the rest of the fic.

**Present day; 3 weeks after Empire Day**

“Perhaps you should go to bed, Leia?” Bail’s voice was soft as he watched his adoptive daughter desperately trying to keep herself awake. It was past midnight in Aldera City and she should’ve been in bed hours ago but the time had slipped past them. “You can continue your help tomorrow.”

“I’m not tired,” every word was surrounded by a yawn as Leia blinked herself awake, trying to refocus her eyes on the datapads in front of her. Bail had finally given in and allowed for Leia to join the Youth Legislature Programme, which would be her first step towards becoming a Senator.

Given he was growing older each year and Leia was his legal heir, Bail had decided his protectiveness of Leia had to relent and that it was time to accept that there were things he couldn’t control. Like her desire to follow in his (and her biological mother’s) footsteps. She was a born Politician, Bail had to admit that Leia took after Padme in many ways. She was driven, passionate and determined to help her people and the Galaxy as a whole.

But where Bail saw a lot of Padme, there was undeniably a lot more of Anakin in his teenage daughter. Leia had her biological father’s temperament and aggressiveness. She had his impatience and impulsive nature. Bail had never known Anakin as intimately as Padme but he was well-versed in how the man’s story of impulsiveness ended and Bail would do anything to save Leia from the same fate.

“You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow and I must apologise that I kept you up for so long. Your help has been appreciated Leia but it is time you rest now.”

Leia ignored her adoptive father’s subtle warning, twiddling her thumbs in her lap. When she finally spoke up, her voice was soft and quiet. There were few times Leia had appeared vulnerable in front of Bail— she only let that side be shown to those she trusted with her life— but he’d noticed she’d been letting her guard down more often as of late. Ever since he’d stopped discouraging her dreams of being a Senator, they’d grown closer.

And with Bail entrusting Leia with small roles in the growing Rebellion he was helping to lead, he knew she was starting to feel more comfortable with him now.

“Do you think I’ll be a good Senator?”

Bail couldn’t help his features from softening, reaching a hand out over the table to clasp the teenage girl’s and give it a gentle squeeze. Leia’s natural confidence and maturity often made her seem far older than her actual age yet at times like this, when she let her guard down and her insecurities peaked through, Bail was reminded of how painfully young she was.

“You’ll be the best, my dear. You remind me so much of your mother.”

Bail noticed tears building up in Leia’s eyes and his heart clenched to see such conflict within her. “But what of . . . _him_?”

The Senator sighed, retracting his hand. For years Bail had been aware of Leia’s issues with her biological father: she loved the man he’d been and adored the stories told but she feared what he became and was terrified of making the same mistakes.

“Your father was not a bad man, Leia; not really. His choices do not define you— we all make our own decisions and find our path in this Galaxy. You have a big heart Leia and it is filled with a passion demanding change. You protect those you love, despite the risks, and you serve the people of Alderaan well. I am very proud of you.”

“You are?”

“Yes. Your mother would be too,” Bail paused, wondering if he should leave the rest unsaid. “And I’m sure the man your father used to be would be proud as well.”

Silence followed his statement and Bail watched as Leia pulled herself together with much grace, reminding Bail so much of Padme. But the look in Leia’s eyes when she looked back up at him, squaring her shoulders, was one hundred percent Skywalker stubbornness.

“I will not let you down.”

And Bail knew she wouldn’t.

A small smile graced his lips and he nodded softly, “That being said, I think I should give you a piece of advice— from one Senator to another.”

“What?” Leia’s eyes were wide, ready to hear any and all advice he could give.

“The act of rest can go a long way,” Bail smirked when Leia rolled her eyes at the subtle jab. “Go to sleep Leia, I shall see you in the morning."

Leia knew there would be no arguing her way out of this one. She doubted it would be hours before Bail rested himself and even though she hated to admit it, the idea of sleep was very intoxicating. As much as Leia wanted to argue simply through principle, even she knew it would be a losing battle. Her own body was betraying her.

“Very well,” Leia tried to summon the last of her manners as she bid him goodnight. It took all her strength to not fall asleep in the corridor as she carefully stumbled towards her room in the Palace. She didn’t even bother to undress into her nightgown before climbing onto her bed and letting sleep roll over her. The last thing Leia thought before she fell fast asleep was how horrified her Governess would be in the morning when she walked in to find Leia in last night’s clothes.

* * *

_A part of Leia’s mind knew she was dreaming and yet everything around her looked so real. She was standing in a large room with dark walls and dim lighting. There were grand, golden statues of the Emperor dotted around and banners with the Imperial logo hanging from the ceiling. Leia had never been anywhere but the ballroom of the Imperial Palace and yet she seemed to acknowledge that this room belonged in another part of that massive building. It looked a little like a conference room, minus the long table._

_“I can’t do it!” Luke sighed, growing frustrated. “It’s impossible!” He looked much the same as to what Leia had seen of him 3 weeks ago on their birthday. It had been a year since they’d parted from their mother’s apartment and seeing him recently, Leia had seen how much he’d grown. He still had the same boyish features and bright smile but his hair was darkening at the roots and his chin seemed more defined._

_But unlike how Leia had seen a smile on her brother’s face when she’d last seen him 3 weeks ago, he was now frowning in contempt. There was a darkness in his eyes that Leia knew had never been there before and his entire aura screamed frustration and anger._

_“Do not believe the lies your sight tells you,” the cold voice of the Emperor replied back. Leia felt as if every bone in her body froze as his harsh voice filled the space around her. She could see his hooded figure standing close to her brother, his pale and disfigured hands reaching out towards him. Leia felt her skin recoil at the dark smirk she could see growing under the heavy hood the Emperor always had pulled over his pale face._

_“Focus on your frustration — on your anger— young Skywalker. Feel the Dark Side respond to you and crush the glass.”_

_Leia watched in horror as Luke squeezed his eyes tight, reaching a hand out towards where a fancy wine glass sat on a small table about a metre away. Her brother concentrated for a while, frowning more and more as he failed. She could feel darkness swirling around Luke but his innate goodness meant it was difficult to latch onto._

_“Perhaps another incentive . . .” The Emperor continued. “Think of your father and the actions he commits on a daily basis. Think of the horror he spreads and use your anger to crush the glass.” Leia felt tears well up in her eyes as Luke’s entire body radiated anger at the Emperor’s words and the glass smashed before he’d even moved a finger. Her brother was seething and the Emperor smiled at the anger Luke was projecting._

_“Good, young Skywalker; you have done me proud.”_

_The scene changed and Leia found herself staring at her brother before her. He seemed different to how she’d seen him a second ago; his face was drawn in darkness and there were black bags under his eyes that gave him a haunted look. Something like fear gripped her chest as she noticed the sickly yellow colour of Luke’s once blue eyes and how he was staring at how with such hatred._

_Leia tripped, falling to the ground with horror as Luke advanced forward, his lightsaber raised to attack. A snarl grew on his lips and never in her life had Leia seen Luke look so disgusted and angry at her._

_“Say hello to Mother and Father,” he growled, preparing to bring his lightsaber down in one swoop and cut her in half._

_Before Leia could react, the scene changed once again. She was on the floor of the room from before, except this time Luke wasn’t there training with the Emperor. Leia looked around and found the Emperor sitting on a dark throne, his disfigured hands pressed together as he hummed in contempt. The hairs on her arms stood up as she moved to stand, listening to his dark voice echo around the terrifying room. For a second, Leia thought he was talking to himself until she noted the figure of a woman kneeling before the Emperor._

_She was dressed in all black with the Imperial logo stamped on her shoulder and there was a pointed, black helmet on her head. Her chin was sharp and her skin was yellow with red tattoos. But Leia disregarded all that as she noted the lightsaber in her hand. She was an Inquisitor, Leia realised. She’d heard Bail murmur worries about the Jedi Killers before._

_“It has come to my attention that another Skywalker lives,” the Emperor’s voice was cold but it was his words that had Leia feel a shiver down her spine. It was like the world starting spinning around her and Leia had to kneel down on the floor so she wouldn’t collapse. It couldn’t be true— the Emperor couldn’t know about her!_

_“Your Highness?” The woman crooned, her eyes were wide and the same sickly yellow as Luke’s had been moments before in Leia’s dream. It felt like her heart had skipped a beat. This woman was obviously a Dark Side user and dangerous._

_“A girl,” the Emperor sounded disgusted as he spoke. “She must be eliminated before she can become a threat. She is untrained but powerful; I will not accept failure, Seventh Sister.”_

_“Of course not, Your Highness. I will end her threat.”_

_“This mission is of upmost importance and Lord Vader can never discover the true nature of it. Stealth is advised. I expect evidence of her termination, she is a future threat that cannot slip through the Empire’s fingers.”_

_“Lord Vader will never know of my mission, I’ll make sure of it. Where is my target located, Your Highness?”_

_The Emperor paused and Leia could see the sinister snarl under his hood. “Alderaan.”_

* * *

Leia jolted awake, her heart racing and a cold sweat breaking out on her skin. A wave of nausea rolled over her and for a second, she grabbed her stomach wondering if her dinner would make a reappearance. Leia had had strange dreams like that before but this one had been the most disturbing, by far.

There was something so sinister about what she’d seen that it made Leia feel cold and empty. She’d watched as her brother trained in the Dark Side of the Force and then seen his attempt to kill her, having fully converted to the ways of the Sith. And then to see the Emperor issue her termination and the fact that he’d known who she was . . . Leia didn’t know what to believe. It was almost too horrifying to believe it was real.

Over the years, Leia had had many dreams which either predicted the future or tried to warn her of things. It had come in handy several times after Leia had woken up in a cold sweat, having seen a horrifying prediction of an Imperial attack upon the Rebels which she’d warned Bail about. But then she’d also had rather nasty dreams which had ended up simply being her fears projected into her unconscious state.

Had her nightmare meant something? Did the Emperor know who Leia was? Was Luke breaking his promise to her and starting his decent to the Dark Side? It had all felt so real, like she could reach out and touch Luke’s shoulder as if he’d truly been there but had that been a lie of her dream or the seriousness of her vision.

In the end, Leia rebuked it as a dream. For years she’d been terrified of the Emperor and him discovering who her biological parents had been, which would end with her being branded for death or turned to the ways of the Sith. It wouldn’t be a stretch for her subconscious to play into that with the horrible nightmare she’d just witnessed. And the idea of the Emperor finding out who she was seemed so absurd. Obi-Wan had done _everything_ to protect the identity of the twins and with Luke being discovered, it seemed unfathomable for Vader or the Emperor to suddenly realise two children had been born before Padme’s Amidala’s death and not one.

If they had been to discover that Luke and Leia were twins, she was sure it would’ve happened far sooner than now.

“Princess, are you alright?” Winter was beside Leia’s side in seconds as the teenager left her room, pulling her cloak over her shoulders. No doubt her friend had heard Leia’s commotion in her bedroom and was worried.

“Winter, how many times have I told you to call me Leia?” She smiled at the girl, trying to push away the nagging thought that the only friend Leia had was her closest handmaiden. Winter was nice and kind to Leia and her sensible streak was something Bail had hoped would rub off on the young Princess. But at the end of the day, no matter how well the two girls got on, Winter still technically worked for Leia.

“Leia, are you alright?” Winter checked herself, still looking at Leia like she would willingly do whatever the Princess asked if she just said the words.

“I’m fine,” Leia forced a smile upon her face. “I just need some air. I’m going to the gardens.”

“I’ll contact Captain Antilles,” Winter nodded. “For protection—“

“No Winter, please; I need some space, okay? I’m just heading to the gardens, I won’t be long. I’ll be back in bed before Captain Antilles could even arrive.”

Winter looked skeptical but nodded, wishing Leia well and that she not catch a cold. Once outside in the gardens, Leia felt like she could finally breathe. The bitter air filled her lungs and gave Leia the chance to pause and think.

Just like Naboo, Alderaan was beautiful in its scenery and natural wonders. The gardens were Leia’s favourite part of the Palace and she loved sitting on the bench near the line of trees and staring up at the mountains far away. Even from the distance, she could see the snow building up and Leia suddenly wished that she were up there, standing in the snow at the tip of the mountain, staring down at the Palace instead.

A flash of Luke’s yellow eyes in her mind made Leia cringe, her eyes moving from the mountains to stare around the garden. Everything was dark but she could just make out the massive fountain in the distance and see the flowers she knew Breha loved so much growing on bushes. She tried to ignore the ache in her head as she breathed in the cold air, letting the bitterness burn her nose until it turned red.

Bail would freak out if he saw Leia sitting here, alone and in the dark, like this. He’d demand that Leia need security with her at all times but Leia never understood his fear. After all, she was in the Palace gardens, which was bordered off from any passing public who could cause her harm. There had been countless times that Leia had sat in this very spot, breathing in the night air, as she tried to calm her mind after a terrible nightmare.

“Ow,” Leia groaned, unable to ignore her headache anymore. Her hand went up to her forehead and she squeezed her eyes shut, wondering why it suddenly felt like a large amount of pressure was growing around her temples. It was a tugging feeling, something in her mind screaming: _danger, danger, danger_!

With each second, the screaming and tugging got worse until Leia honestly felt as if she might faint. _Danger! Danger! Danger! Run._

Leia felt the presence of the intruder more than she heard them. They were fast approaching from behind her in the trees and Leia could sense the murderous intent that rolled over them like waves. Breaking out into a run, Leia berated herself for being so stupid and coming outside in the dead-of-night after dreaming of the Emperor ordering her assassination.

She’d practically handed herself to her attacker on a silver platter.

“Are you leaving so soon?” The voice echoed of a woman echoed behind her and Leia froze, instantly recognising it from the Inquisitor in her dream. So it had been true; the Emperor had ordered her termination and he did know who she really was. Leia felt as if she might be sick. After 16 years, the secret had been exposed to the most powerful and deadly man in the Galaxy.

Leia knew there was no way she would make it back inside the warmth of the Palace. She was still quite far away from the entrance and she doubted she could outrun a trained assassin and Dark Side user.

“Forgive me for not liking the company,” Leia bit back, keeping her chin held high as she turned around to face the woman tasked to kill her. Just like her dream, the Inquisitor was dressed head-to-toe in black with a pointed, black helmet on their head. Her eyes were a sickly yellow and there was a snarl on her face.

“Trust me, in a few minutes, that won’t matter,” the Inquisitor snarked. She was holding her lightsaber in one hand and Leia knew that it would be a brilliant red when she finally ignited it.

“Who are you and why are you here?” Leia tried to buy time. She twisted her palm so it was facing the entrance of the Palace and she cleared her mind just like Obi-Wan had taught her to as a child, whilst she waited for the Inquisitor to speak.

“Surely, you know that answer already— don’t you, child?”

Leia frowned. “Inquisitors hunt Jedi, what could you possibly want from me? I’m the Princess of Alderaan, what are your reasons for being here?"

 _Breathe_ , Leia told herself. _Calm yourself and clear your mind_. She thought of the lightsaber that she’d stashed under her bed after she’d stolen it from Obi-Wan on Naboo, having brought it to Alderaan and hidden it before Bail could discover what she’d done. She pictured the weapon that lay under her bed, just like it had for the past 6 years.

“The Princess of Alderaan . . . we both know that’s nothing more than a disguise to cover up who you really are.”

Every hope Leia had once clung to of the Emperor not knowing who she truly was, was broken. Palpatine knew who her biological parents were and he understood what threat Leia held against him. Any and all chances of her living a somewhat normal life were stashed now that she was on the Emperor’s radar. He would not stop until was dead.

If Leia survived this altercation, her life was always going to be in danger.

“I thought you were part of a group,” Leia frowned. “Where are all your friends?”

“This is not a mission the Emperor wanted publicised,” the Inquisitor snarled. “I come alone. After all, I doubt you’ll put up much a fight.”

“You kill me and all of Alderaan will rebel,” she growled, refusing to be silenced. If the young Princess was murdered (and by a lightsaber wound no less) then the Rebellion would only grow. And despite facing her death, Leia was proud of the fact that she would be a martyr for a cause bigger than herself.

The Inquisitor laughed, cold and harsh. “And then the Empire will crush the planet with military ease.”

Leia, as disgusted as she was, could see the benefit the Emperor got from this. It was like killing two Porgs with one stone: take out a threat and squash a planet rising in the ranks of rebellion. It truly was despicably smart.

“You shouldn’t underestimate me,” Leia kept her shields high as she tried to call the lightsaber to her. It was a long-shot given how far her bedroom was from where she stood and the fact she was severely out of practice but Leia refused to give up as she kept her palm open and willed the weapon to come to her. She could see it in her mind’s eye, collecting dust under her bed.

 _Come to me_ , she willed it. _Come to me!_

The Inquisitor just gave her a sadistic smile, igniting her lightsaber as she prepared to attack. _Come to me!_ Leia felt her panic increase and her concentration slip. “We’ll see about that.” Without warning (not like Leia expected this murderer to say “ _oh hey I’m going to attack you now”_ ), the Jedi-killer ran at her, the red lightsaber slashing through the air in quick movement to cut Leia down. At the last second, Leia was able to throw herself to the side, falling hard on the ground. A searing pain was felt in her arm and she stared wide-eyed at the lightsaber burn that had slashed through her heavy, white tunic.

Leia didn’t have enough time to inspect the wound but she doubted it was deep or life-threatning. It would probably leave a scar, a long mark forever stained on her skin, but if she survived this incident then Leia knew she couldn’t complain.

The Inquisitor bared her teeth at the fact that Leia had managed to dodge her attack. Her fast reflexes only proved Leia had Jedi-like abilities and use of the Force, making the woman’s eyes flash with unhidden anger. She lunged at Leia once more, with far more uncontrolled hatred but the young Princess just rolled to the side, missing getting sliced by mere centimetres.

 _Come on!_ Leia begged to the Force, keeping her palm open. She tried to imagine the lightsaber in her hand. _Come to me!_ Growing up, Obi-Wan had never been shy about showing the twins’ their father’s lightsaber which he’d taken after their final duel. He’d always proudly displayed it and whilst Leia knew that the weapon had been used to do some despicable things at the end of its use, she also knew so much good had been done with it too. Having it close to her had been her way of trying to make peace with the good _and_ the bad that her father alignment himself with.

“Any last words?” The Inquisitor knew there would be no more escape now, she was standing over Leia and her pure yellow eyes were burning a hole in the girl’s head. She would be faster and more dangerous now. Leia watched as she raised her lightsaber just like Luke had in Leia’s nightmare, preparing to make one final strike. _COME TO ME!_

Something heavy filled Leia’s palm and her fingers curled around the cold metal, rejoicing in the unfamiliar and yet familiar feel of the weapon in her hand. She barely managed to ignite it before the Inquisitor’s own red blade met blue, the hissing sound filling Leia’s ears. Her hold slipped slightly at the sudden aggressive force but Leia pushed all her strength to her arms to keep those two blades interlocked.

“So,” the Inquisitor’s eyes were wide and she actually seemed shocked underneath all her anger. “You really _are_ Skywalker’s daughter.”

Despite everything— despite the fear she was currently feeling and the angst her parentage usually brought— Leia actually felt proud of who she was in that moment. Her biological father brought her a lot of stress, whether in the fact he’d practically abandoned her to pursue darkness and played a hand in her mother’s death, or by simply passing his Force abilities down to her for her to end up in this situation; one thing was blatantly true: she truly was the daughter of Anakin Skywalker. In blood and in power.

With a rush of adrenaline, Leia pushed herself up with the Force as she continued the battle. Now she was no longer laying on the ground, she had more agility and strength. Her use of a lightsaber was sloppy and weak— where Obi-Wan had taught her and Luke the inside and outs of Force use and building protective shields for their minds, they’d been too young for him to give them lightsabers and train them in more physical ways. Thinking back to how Leia had been when she’d been under 10, she knew that all she would’ve done would cause chaos.

And perhaps made her brother lose a hand.

“How did the Emperor find out?” Leia yelled, their lightsabers clashing once more. She wasn’t sure if there were guards around to hear this fight but she sincerely hoped there was. All she needed was for the Inquisitor to become distracted and then Leia would have the upper hand that she was clearly lacking right now.

“The Emperor knows all,” the Inquisitor spat and Leia refrained from biting back. The Emperor _hadn’t_ known all. He hadn’t known that Padme Amidala had given birth to twins for the first decade of their lives. And when he’d discovered about Luke, he still hadn’t found out about Leia. For 16 years, the Emperor had been in the dark on the truth about the Skywalker twins and Leia had no idea how now, after all this time, the truth could’ve been revealed.

Had someone snitched? Had legal records regarding Leia’s adoption been brought to light and seemed suspicious? Had the Emperor made a guess due to Leia’s close complexion to her mother and now his suspicions had been confirmed? She had no idea how after 16 years of deceit, a faked pregnancy bump at her mother’s funeral and multiple forged documents, the Emperor could finally know the truth.

That Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala had brought Force-sensitive twin children into the Galaxy. Twin children who had the power to burn Palpatine’s entire tyrannical scheme to the ground.

“Princess!” The yell of Captain Antilles brought Leia back to the present and she quickly blocked an attack the Inquisitor sent her way. From the way she was getting increasingly more violent in her attacks, Leia realised she’d been going easy on her before now. Perhaps the Inquisitor had merely enjoyed teasing Leia and seeing how sloppy her lightsaber form really was. But now time was running out and Leia knew the real threat was just beginning: the Inquisitor would not leave until Leia was dead.

Blaster bolts started raining towards the Inquisitor, multiple guards including Captain Antilles, all firing at the murderer but she blocked them easily. Leia used her short distraction to run, staying alert in the Force in case the Inquisitor once again caught up to her.

“Princess! Senator Organa is looking for you inside! You must get inside the safe room as soon as possible!” Captain Antilles continued firing at the Inquisitor who was deflecting the blaster bolts back at the guards with a murderous look in her eyes. Leia watched with horror as man after man fell to the floor. It wouldn’t be long until all the guards fell.

“Come with me,” Captain Antilles, her adoptive father’s most trusted member of the House of Organa, placed his hand on Leia’s shoulder, as he navigated her towards safety. The echoes of blaster fire filtered away and once back inside the Palace, Leia could hear the loud siren that warned everyone of danger. It wouldn’t be long until the Inquisitor killed all the guards outside and bombarded the Palace in her search for Leia, so she could understand Captain Antilles haste as he moved her to where the safe room was held.

No doubt the Queen and Bail were already inside, waiting for Leia to arrive so the room could be secured.

“Leia!” Bail’s voice boomed over the siren and she turned to see her adoptive father racing towards her. He was dressed in the same clothes that she’d seen in him earlier, his hair slight mussed from the current events and a group of guards were surrounding him. “Thank the Force you’re okay!”

Leia wasn’t sure if it was fear, desperation or stress but she suddenly raced towards where Bail stood, throwing her arms around him as they embraced for what she thought was the first time since he’d adopted her 6 years ago. In return, Bail held her close and pressed a light kiss to the crown of her head.

“ _He_ knows,” Leia whispered, looking up at her adoptive father with tears in her eyes. “There’s an Inquisitor outside who was sent to kill me.” The sound of blaster fire got louder and Leia realised that the Inquisitor was now inside the Palace.

Bail turned to his guards, “The Intruder must be stopped. Use any means necessary.” The majority of them nodded, heading in the direction to where the sound of the Inquisitor echoed whilst others stayed to protect the Senator and Leia.

“Senator Organa, I must insist the Princess and yourself enter the safe room. The Queen is already inside.”

“Get as many members of the household and workers inside the safe room as you can and then secure it,” Bail’s voice didn’t tremble as he spoke but Leia felt his arms tighten around her.

“But Senator—“

“Prepare your ship Captain,” Bail carried on. “Alderaan will never be safe for my daughter again, we must take her off-world. She’ll find security in the Rebellion.”

Captain Antilles looked like he wanted to argue but as the sound of blaster fire got louder and louder, he nodded, seeming to understand the severity of the situation. The Inquisitor was out for Leia’s blood and not even the safe room would protect her. Now that the Emperor knew the truth, Leia’s title of Princess was void and the target upon her head would never be taken away.

Bail pulled back, holding Leia by her shoulders as he addressed with the most serious expression she’d ever seen on his face. She willed herself not to cry, blinking away the tears that formed as she stared up into the face of the man who’d been protecting her for 6 years.

“We need to get you off-world as soon as possible, Leia,” Bail’s deep brown eyes had fear swirling in them but his voice never broke. He sounded just like the Senator Leia respected and had come to deeply care for. “What did the Inquisitor say to you?”

Leia bit her lip, feeling her head pound in her chest. “She called me Skywalker’s daughter. The Emperor knows who I am, Bail. He knows.”

Bail’s face paled and he looked just as distraught as Leia felt. She wondered if he was thinking back to 6 years ago, when 10 year old Leia had been brought to Alderaan with tears streaming down her face and her small amount of belongings packed in a bag at her feet. She’d meant to be in her room, getting used to the space that had now been hers when she’d heard Bail and Obi-Wan talking in hushed voices.

 _“The Emperor must never know who she is_ ,” Obi-Wan had sighed, sounding far older than his actual years. “ _She’ll be in the limelight here as Princess but he must never discover the truth.”_

 _“We’ll use the cover story of her mother being one of my wife’s deceased handmaidens that we decided to take under our wing. My wife and I never adopted another child just for this very reason in case Leia needed a safe place to stay and a title to protect her. It shouldn’t raise flags in the Imperial ranks that I finally found an heir, I doubt anyone would look into it,_ ” Bail had whispered back.

_“I’m taking Luke to Anakin’s family on Tatooine; he should be safe being so far away from the Empire’s prying eyes. And I doubt Vader would return given his past experiences.”_

_“You need not worry Obi-Wan, I will protect Leia like she is my own. Padme was my dearest friend and I would die for her daughter if the situation occurs. She will be safe here, with me.”_

Leia wondered if Bail was thinking of that promise. She wondered if he was thinking of Leia’s mother and how she’d died because of what Palpatine and Vader had done. After 6 years of always being standoffish to Bail Organa for his role in separating Leia from Luke, Leia realised that all he’d ever done was protect her. He’d given her a new name and title to hide behind. He’d given her a home to act as her safe haven and he’d committed numerous counts of treason by lying about Leia’s origins and forging all the birth certificate and legal documents needed.

It made her want to embrace the man again but before she could, Bail was already pulling an arm around her shoulders and half-dragging her in the direction of the hangar. The guards that had stayed behind surrounded them, their blasters raised for any sort of attack. The comm on one of their wrists crackled and Leia just about heard what was being said: “ _the intruder— ahh— is inside the Palace—ah! I repeat! The Intruder is inside the Palace! Secure the safe room—ahh— she is heading for your loca—“_

“Sir, we must hurry,” one of the guards whispered to Bail as they practically ran to the hangar. Bail responded by moving faster.

Captain Antilles ran down the ramp of the awaiting ship, his face slightly red from running and his mouth set in a grim line. Leia realised the ship wasn’t the Tantive IV that she’d been expecting to see but a smaller and sleeker module which was designed for less occupants.

“The ship is prepared for take-off, Senator, as soon as required. My astromech and protocol droid are inside for assistance and the astromech droid is programmed with the location of the Rebel base. Give the word and—“

Leia felt the prickle in the Force just at the same time Captain Antilles pulled out his blaster to start shooting at a figure that had emerged at the end of the hangar. _Danger, danger, danger!_ Her senses yelled over and over again and Leia’s eyes were wide when she saw the blood red lightsaber deflecting blaster bolt after blaster bolt with ease. The Inquisitor was catching up with them and Leia knew the window of escape was slowly closing.

“You must leave now!” Captain Antilles yelled as he raced forward to join the guards who acted as a wall between the attacker and the Royal family. The Inquisitor advanced forwards as the guards moved to give Bail and Leia more space and security and Leia watched in horror as the lightsaber slashed down upon a few of them.

“Leia!” Bail’s voice was strong and he gripped her shoulders in a slightly painful hold. “Get on the ship now!” She did as she was told, racing up the ramp as Bail followed after her. Her adoptive father moved to the cockpit, shouting orders at a blue astromech droid as his fingers moved over the controls. Leia knew Bail wasn’t an expert pilot but he knew enough to get the ship off the hangar bay floor. Leia suspected the astromech droid would do the rest.

_Danger! Go! Go!_

Leia felt the stab of warning from the Force and she looked down the ramp to see the Inquisitor’s lightsaber get pulled out of Captain Antilles chest. The man fell to floor, joining the bodies of the other guards and Leia felt nausea rise up in her chest. The un-ignited lightsaber in her hand felt heavy as the yellow eyes of the Inquisitor met her own brown ones. But before Leia could carry on the fight, Bail appeared by her side.

He started shooting blaster bolt after blaster bolt at the Inquisitor, slowly moving down the ramp as the attacker continued to deflect. “Leia, Artoo is programmed with the location of where to go. Head to the cockpit and get out of here!”

Leia felt horror roll over her as she watched as Bail’s feet touched the hangar bay floor, unrelenting in his shooting at the Inquisitor. “What about you?!”

“Never mind me: go! Now!”

Tears filled Leia’s eyes and she shook her head, even though she knew he couldn’t her. “Leia, it is not safe here for you now and it never will be again! The Alliance can protect you! Go! Please! You have your father’s blood running through your veins— use it. But never forget that you also have your mother’s!”

Leia understood his meaning, committing the words to her heart.

“Will I ever see you again?” She yelled out as the ramp retracted and it sealed Bail Organa’s fate. She willed her lip not to tremble and pushed away the pessimistic thoughts in her head. _Bail would be fine_ , she told herself over and over again. _He had to be_.

“What does your heart tell you?”

 _No_. “I hope so,” Leia felt her voice tremble. The last thing she saw before the ramp contracted and the door to the ship closed was Bail lowering his blaster, turning his head to look at her with a simple but sad smile.

As much as Leia wanted to curl into a ball and close her eyes, she knew she had to do what Bail had told her to. She ran to the cockpit, throwing herself into the pilot seat as she finished off what Bail had started. “Let’s get out of here,” she called to the astromech droid as he beeped in reply, plugging in to the ship to help her take off. Leia felt as the ship lifted up from the hanger bay floor and with slightly wobbly controls, it shot off into the sky.

The astromech droid beeped some more and Leia had the sneaky suspicious he was trying to get her to relent the controls so he could take over. Doing as instructed, she sat back in her seat as the ship flew far more smoothly. The feeling of danger ebbed away the further the ship flew and Leia knew the Inquisitor had been left behind.

Squeezing her eyes tight, Leia reached out with the Force to try and find Bail’s Force signature on the platform they’d left behind. As she searched, all she got was silence. Nothing. He was gone.

A tear slipped down Leia’s cheek and she knew her life had once again been turned upside down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, so no-one's hopes are letdown, Han Solo and Chewie are tagged in this but will appear for about a chapter or two. They aren't major characters. I'll probably write more on this when they first appear.


	4. Inner Conflict

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little warning: this chapter goes into Luke's mental strife and there are some parts which can be interpreted as anger management and hints of depression.

Leia sat in the pilot seat for a long time, staring out at the passing whirl of stars in complete silence. Her cheeks were stained with dried tear tracks and she absent-mindedly recalled that she’d now been in Hyperspace for a little over half an hour. The astromech droid was still plugged into the controls, doing all the heavy lifting whilst Leia pulled up her knees to her chest and let her feelings of numbness roll over her body.

What was she meant to do now? She’d survived, yes, but her life had forever changed. No title, no changed name and no other powerful family would be able to protect her anymore. The Emperor knew another Skywalker lived and he would hunt her down for the rest of his life. All hope of a normal life was out the window: Leia would never be able to move on nor sleep with both eyes closed. She’d be looking over her shoulder until the day she died. And if Leia even thought about trying to settle down, marry or have kids, her entire family would be slaughtered if discovered.

Palpatine wanted her head and he wouldn’t rest to get it.

The astromech droid beeped and Leia lifted her head just in time to see words appear on the screen before her. _Are you alright?_

Leia sniffed, wiping away the evidence of her tears from her face. “Not really.”

_Did you get hurt?_

“Not physically,” although Leia realised that wasn’t true. Now the adrenaline was slowly ebbing away, Leia was starting to feel the aching pain in her arm from where she’d been slashed with the Inquisitor’s lightsaber.

_I’m sorry for your loss. I lost my Master too._

Leia idly wondered if droids could feel pain but something told her this astromech was different to the rest. Moving closer, Leia reached out to find out the name of the droid. “R2-D2? You’re special, aren’t you, Artoo?”

Artoo let out a beep but no translation came on the screen.

“Captain Antilles was your Master?”

_My most recent one, yes._

“You’ve had more?”

 _Yes_. _Threepio and I were taken in by Captain Antilles shortly after you were born._

“Threepio?”

 _He’s the protocol droid powered down in the back._ Leia realised she hadn’t seen the protocol droid mentioned and made a mental note to go look for him soon.

“Wait . . . did you say ‘after I was born’. You know me? You were there when I was born?”

Artoo made a noise like he’d been caught out. _Yes, Threepio and I were there for your birth. Although, he won’t remember because they had his memory wiped._ Artoo sounded sad at the fact.

“Why were you there for my birth? I was born in the Outer Rim on Polis Massa, what were you doing there?” The more she found out, the more Leia felt like truths were being unravelled. Obi-Wan had never mentioned droids being there for her birth. And she hadn’t been adopted by Bail at that point so Leia couldn’t fathom why Captain Antilles' droids would’ve been there.

However, Artoo’s next words were something Leia had never been expecting to hear.

_Threepio and I used to belong to your mother, Padme Amidala, before she died. She gifted me to your father, Anakin, at the start of the war and we became good friends. I wanted to come with you and Luke when Master Kenobi took you away but he said it wouldn’t be safe. So Captain Antilles took us instead._

“You knew my mother? And my father? You know of Luke?!” Leia felt like crying once more, never in her life had she expected to hear this. Here was her mother’s droid who no doubt knew more of her than Leia ever would.

_Yes. I was saddened to hear you were separated after all these years. Is he well?_

At the mention of Luke, Leia felt her blood run cold. She felt as if her nightmare had occurred a decade ago now but it still burnt brightly in her mind. Leia had seen the Emperor ordering her death and then the Inquisitor had come to fulfil the deed, which meant her nightmare of Luke training in the Dark Side had been real too. Leia had no doubt that the murderous Luke with yellow eyes who’d been preparing to kill her was part of a dark future that would come to pass if she didn’t put a stop to it.

“No,” Leia shook her head, feeling adrenaline rush through her again. “He’s not. Artoo we have to go to Coruscant!”

_What? No! I was told to take you to the Rebellion!_

“Artoo,” Leia begged the droid to understand. He obviously cared a great deal about Leia’s family, having been there for her birth and spending years with her parents. “Luke is on Coruscant and the Emperor is going to hurt him! He’s going to make him evil!”

_Like Anakin?_

Leia was taken aback by Artoo’s words. It was not a well-known fact that Anakin Skywalker had turned into Darth Vader; only a handful of people knew and most of those people were now dead. But perhaps Leia shouldn’t have been shocked if Artoo had once been close to the man her father had been.

“You know about what happened to Anakin?”

Artoo made a sad noise. _He was my friend but the Emperor corrupted him. He killed him._

Leia thought back to what Luke always argued when they were reunited on their birthday. “Luke says that there’s good in Vader. He thinks Anakin is still alive.”

_The Anakin I knew would never do such terrible things. Maybe he hasn’t been completely killed but the friend I knew is gone._

“The Emperor is going to do what he did to Anakin, to Luke. I saw it Artoo; I saw the Emperor training Luke in the Dark Side. He wants to make Luke a Sith and when he does, my brother will die. I can’t lose him. I can’t lose the last person in my family. Please, we have to get him.”

Artoo was silent for a few seconds and Leia wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. But then he beeped out a reply and she eagerly read the words on the screen. _I’m meant to protect you. Anakin would be mad if I put his daughter in danger . . . but if it means saving his son, I think he’d forgive me. The Anakin I knew would never want Luke to be corrupted and murdered like he was._

Leia could’ve kissed the droid when he gently pulled them out of hyperspace and changed the navigation course to Coruscant. It was going to be difficult and Leia wasn’t even sure if they would pull it off but the least she could do was try. Luke had practically been getting killed right before her eyes in her nightmare and she refused to sit idly by whilst the Emperor tried to corrupt her brother. Luke was too good, too pure, for Palpatine to destroy him without Leia standing up to defend her twin.

As the swirl of stars once again surrounded them and the navi-computer displayed that it would be a few hours before they entered Coruscant’s system, Leia turned back to Artoo. She’d check on Threepio soon and grab some needed rest but for now she had too many questions circling in her mind.

“Can you tell me about my parents? I’m sure you have some good stories.”

Artoo let out a noise Leia assumed was a chuckle. _Oh yes, you’re going to love them._

* * *

It was either the middle of the night or very early in the morning in Imperial City but Luke Vader didn’t care; either way, it was too soon to be awake and yet the last thing he wanted to do was close his eyes. The nightmare Luke had woken up from wasn’t anything new, in fact it the was exact same nightmare that he’d been having every night for three weeks. It was always the same faceless people and their unfamiliar voices all crying out for help— for mercy. A mercy which dream-Luke never provided.

_“Please! Please, no! I’m beg—“_

_“Have mercy, please I—“_

_“I’m sorry, I’m not a traitor! I swear I’m—“_

Luke shuddered and he knew the cold feeling that spread across his body had nothing to do with the temperature of his room. Across the room, Luke’s ears picked up the soft dripping noise of water hitting the basin from where his tap hadn’t been completely turned off in his ‘fresher. _Drip. Drip. Drip._ In the heavy silence of his room, Luke focused on that sound and tried to clear his mind.

The cold feeling remained.

_“There must be a mistake, no—“_

_“Not my child! Please not—“_

Luke threw his legs off his bed so fast that they wobbled. He almost tumbled to the floor at the sudden flurry of movement but at the last second, his balance regained. He was across his room in seconds, his hands clutching at the comlink he’d left on his desk like it were his lifeline. Standing here, the dripping sound from his ‘fresher was louder. _Drip. Drip. Drip._

Even though Luke had been expecting it, when his father’s frequency came up with the usual ‘out of range’ signal, he felt suddenly claustrophobic in his large room. His father had been gone for three weeks now, having left for the Mid Rim to sort out a brewing war on a planet Luke had never heard of and even though Vader had been gone for longer before, this time his absence seemed to stretch. For the first time in a long time, Luke felt like he needed his father— _really_ needed him.

And yet the man was completely out of range and had been the entire time Luke needed him most.

Staring at the ‘out of range’ signal a little longer, Luke felt a familiar tug of anger brew in his chest. It was like a fire being set, burning bright and growing with each second and before he knew it, Luke had thrown his comlink so hard at the wall opposite him that it broke into little pieces.

Of course his father wouldn’t be there for him at the time Luke needed him most! Of course he would leave Luke behind for some Mid Rim dispute! Compared to the Empire, Luke mattered not to Vader.

 ** _“Did you really expect anything less?”_** A dark voice sounded in his mind— the same dark voice that had been following him for 3 weeks now. It sounded like a mix of the Emperor and himself and every time Luke heard it whispering in his mind, a shiver ran down his spine. The anger in his chest grew at the sound of the voice and for a second, Luke only saw red.

He clenched his hand into a fist, watching as his knuckles turned a sickly white colour. His father didn’t care about him! If he cared then he would be here, lending his son a shoulder to cry on or speak his fears to. The anger doubled, threatening to choke Luke and the darkness that had been planted in his head responded to all his fears and frustrations. In that moment, Luke felt like he could reach out and crush his desk into nothing but a clump of metal with just the movement of his hand.

_“Mercy! Please have mercy—“_

_“I’m innocent I swear I didn’t do it—“_

_“Please! I—”_

The stranger’s cries from his nightmare returned and Luke pressed his fist to his face and tried to control his breathing. _In, out. In, out. In, out._ The anger subsided and all Luke was left with was the same cold feeling from before.

Tears welled up in his eyes and Luke stared at his bedroom door, willing his father to walk through. Luke knew his father would know what to do or what to say if he knew about the darkness that had been cutting itself into Luke’s mind over the past few weeks. He’d be the only one who could understand Luke’s fears and the pressing presence of Palpatine upon his mind.

But his father wasn’t here and Luke knew that by the time Vader did finally return from the Mid Rim, the boy he’d known would be gone. Luke’s soul would belong to the Emperor.

 ** _“Feel the anger inside of you— feel the rage! Use it! Become it!”_** The voice sounded more like the Emperor know, feeding the darkness that he himself had planted. But Luke just pressed his forehead against his knees, wrapping his arms around his legs on the floor as he pushed the voice away.

 _Think of happy things, think of happy things, think of happy things . . ._ Luke kept repeating the mantra around in his head until the memory of Naboo’s warm sun and the smell of grass filled his mind. He could hear Leia’s childish giggles and feel the carefreeness that spread across his heart. Obi-Wan was calling out their names somewhere in the distance, demanding they head inside for lunch. There was a rush of water coming from beside him and when Luke looked down at the lake, his face had all the chubbiness of a young child and his eyes were brighter than they'd been in a long time.

When Luke opened his eyes, blinking a few times to readjust to the darkness of his room, he felt slightly better. Not completely but slightly. The Dark Side had been pushed back and for now, Luke felt like his old self. He knew it wouldn’t last (it never did) but it was enough at the current moment.

Thinking of Naboo had become Luke’s safety blanket after all his lessons with the Emperor. After his father had been sent off to the Mid Rim mere minutes after the Empire Day celebrations had ended, it had taken Palpatine only two standard days before he’d called Luke to his Throne Room and demanded the boy learn the ways of the Force. Or more specifically, the ways of the Dark Side.

Luke had politely declined of course, stating he couldn’t do such a thing without Vader’s permission but the Emperor had been insistent. He’d stated it was Luke’s birthright and the time had come for Luke to make his father proud by following in his footsteps to train like a Sith.

And so the lessons had begun— rather covertly, of course. After each day of school, Luke’s presence was requested in the Emperor’s Throne Room and for hours he was encouraged to use the Force and to feel his anger. And with each lesson, the dark presence of the Emperor grew in his mind and the part of Luke that felt like himself was slowly chipped away.

His emotions were becoming uncontrollable, his anger being set off by the slightest of things and Luke’s fears only grew the Dark Side within him. And with the Emperor’s lessons, came his nightmares. Faceless people that Luke had never met all crying out for mercy as Luke wordlessly slaughtered them without any remorse. He wasn’t sure if it was his subconscious projecting his fears or if it were visions of his future kills but either way, they frightened Luke to his core until sleep became a thing of the past.

In the past three weeks, Luke had hardly slept and he felt like he was living in a nightmare. No matter how hard he pinched his skin, he wouldn’t wake up from the constant terror and anger that now seemed to become him.

Was this how his father had felt when the Emperor had started twisting the Dark Side inside of him? Constantly exhausted and yet unable to sleep out of fear of nightmares; feeling so angry at everything in the Galaxy but having no real way to expel that anger? Having no one to talk to and feeling so isolated and disconnected from everyone because you fear they would never understand if you tried to explain? Feeling so helpless to stop the swirling thoughts in your head and knowing it would only be a matter of time before they consumed you?

_Think of happy things, think of happy things, think of happy things . . ._

The Dark Side was cold and Luke hated it. He hated how it made him feel, like he had all the power in the Galaxy and everyone’s fates were at his fingertips. He hated how the anger crushed on his soul, taking away his laughter and leaving him feeling so moody all the time.

The carefreeness was gone and Luke was trapped in how own personal Hell— a Hell he’d been living in ever since the Emperor had decided it was time to open him up to the Dark Side. It was only a matter of time before he pledged himself to be Palpatine’s newest apprentice and Luke knew that once he did, he would die.

Everything that had made Luke to be Luke, would be twisted and corrupted and broken until all that was left was a pawn in the Emperor’s game. The darkness that Luke tried so desperately to push down when he wasn’t in Palpatine’s presence, would consume him. Just like it had his father.

Luke would be the next generation of Sith and the thought was so utterly terrifying that he had to think of Naboo just to control the darkness that threatened to grow from his fears.

 _“You have a choice— you always have a choice!”_ A voice that sounded so distinctly like Leia grabbed at Luke’s mind, pushing away the darkness. But Luke frowned. He didn’t see how he had a choice in this: there was no one to talk to and no one to run to. His father was off-world (conveniently for Palpatine) and any other adult or friend who Luke could turn to would be just as powerless as Luke was himself.

And Luke knew that running away wouldn’t solve anything. Where would he go? Who would he go to? If he ran to Alderaan it would just put Leia in danger. He didn’t know where in all Corellian Hells Obi-Wan had disappeared to. And it wasn’t like Luke was in a position to know where the Rebel Alliance had set up their base.

He was alone. And scared. And angry. And there was nothing he could do and no one who could help. The Emperor had an overbearing presence on his mind and Luke couldn’t push him away, no matter how hard he tried.

The door-comm buzzed and Luke distantly realised that he must’ve been sitting on the floor of his room for hours. He should’ve started getting ready for school half an hour ago.

“Hi Luke,” Lieutenant Rossi stood on the other side of Luke’s door when he finally picked himself off the ground to open it. The smile on her face was instantly wiped off the second she looked at him. “Force, did you even get any sleep last night?”

Luke was tempted to lie but the dark circles that had been growing every night since the nightmares started would only catch him out. “I— uh, I got a few hours.”

Lieutenant Rossi didn’t look convinced but she let it go anyway. “Right. You know, if you’re having trouble sleeping there are a thousand techniques on the Holonet which could help. I know when my son started losing sleep because of his finals we researched many ways to help and there was this one method that we found really effective. He just—“

“I’m not having trouble sleeping,” Luke ground his teeth together, feeling an overwhelming wave of frustration that was born from nowhere.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Luke,” LR’s voice was calm but it grated on Luke’s nerves. “We all have troubles sometimes—“

“I already told you I’m not having trouble sleeping!”

Lieutenant Rossi took a step back at Luke’s outburst, her eyes widening a fraction out of fear. Her expression caused Luke to sober and the cold feeling shuddered down his spine when the anger subsided.

“I—uh, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to yell,” his voice was scratchy as he apologised and he blinked back tears. There was so much he wanted to tell LR; she’d been like a second parental figure ever since Luke had moved into the Imperial Palace and he knew she cared for him. She could never replace his father nor his mother but Luke appreciated that she did care about him.

LR just cleared her throat, brushing his outburst to the side. “It’s fine. I actually came to see you because I wanted to know if you were free later?”

Luke knew he wasn’t. The Emperor would be expecting him in his Throne Room the second that school ended.

But curiosity gripped at Luke. “Why?”

“There’s one final showing of that Holofilm you were raving about a few weeks ago in theatres. It’s last day playing is today and I didn’t know if you would want to go. You could fly and I’ll be in charge of snacks.”

She smiled at him with such kindness that it almost broke Luke’s heart. He could remember what Holofilm she was talking about and how excited he’d been to see it. It had been released on Empire Day and Luke had been making plans with friends to see it the following weekend of his birthday.

But then the Emperor’s lessons had started and all kinds of childish excitement had been run from his mind by his fears. And the nightmares had chased all his energy away.

“I can’t,” Luke sighed and he could feel LR’s disappointment and worry through the Force. “I, uh, have a Gymnastics meet after school today.” The extra-curricular activity had been Luke’s cover-up story to explain why he was gone for hours after school when in reality he’d quit his Gymnastics team weeks ago when the Emperor’s lessons had first started.

LR didn’t let her disappointment show even though Luke felt it like it were his own. “I understand; good luck. Nationals are coming up?”

Luke nodded. “In a few weeks, yeah.”

She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “You’ll do great. If you change your mind about the Holofilm just comm me. I’ll keep my afternoon open just in case.”

Luke watched as she left, feeling a wave of despair that threatened to make him cry. He wanted to scream at LR and tell her how scared he was and how the Emperor was twisting his mind with every single one of their Dark Side lessons but he knew there would be nothing she could do. If anything, telling LR would only put her in danger.

Anger bubbled in his chest, the frustration of feeling so alone making Luke’s entire body burn and he suddenly clenched his hand into a fist and brought it against his wall. No matter how many times he punched and punched and punched, his anger didn’t subside. It was like a fog was in his mind, the darkness plaguing his every thought and nothing he could do would expel it.

**_“Yesss, feel the anger. Become the rage!”_ **

Luke paused with his fist in mid-air, looking at the wall where a stain of blood was now decorating the paint. His knuckles throbbed and Luke focused on the pounding pain to help clear his mind. _Breathe. In, out. In, out. In, out. Think of happy things . . ._

When the anger reduced, the cold feeling spread to every cell in his body and Luke had never felt more helpless in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure what my posting schedule is at the moment but there will be a chapter at least once a week.


	5. Nearly There

Luke dragged his feet as he made his way to his locker, not caring that he was very late for his first class. Even though he had his license now, Luke had decided to walk to school in an attempt to try and clear his mind. But after arguing with the Reception droid about why he was late and being handed a late pass, the anger from before had returned like it had never truly gone away.

Luke was just wondering if he should skip his first class altogether when a voice from down the hall brought him out of his thoughts. “Luke?”

Luke’s best friend at the school, Kuna Menall, was staring at him with unhidden worry in his eyes. A Human-Twi’leck crossbreed with pale green skin and even brighter green eyes, Kuna was the son of an assistant who worked for the Coruscant Senator. He the most down-to-earth out of all Luke’s friends and out of everyone, he was the person Luke trusted the most. They’d been fast friends when Luke had joined the school over 5 years ago but over the past few weeks, Luke had been distancing himself from the boy.

“Luke, are you okay?” Kuna walked down the hall until he was face-to-face with Luke, looking his friend up and down like he’d just walked away from a terrible speeder accident. At the back of his mind, Luke knew why: his hair was unkept and the dark circles of his eyes made him look slightly zombie-ish. Coupled with the fact his appetite had been near non-existent ever since the fear had kicked in, Luke knew he looked kind of gaunt.

“Yeah, uh, yeah I’m fine,” he mumbled over his words as he grabbed the necessary books out of his locker. _Breathe. In, out. In, out. In, out._

“Really? Because I comm’d you a million times this morning but you didn’t reply. And you’re really late for class and you look like you haven’t slept in a year!”

Luke thought of his comlink smashed to pieces on the floor of his room. “My, uh, comlink broke. Last night. And I overslept.”

Kuna didn’t appear appeased and he continued to frown at Luke like if he stared long enough then he would be able to solve the problem of why Luke was acting this way. “You’re acting different— has something happened? You’ve practically been avoiding me and everyone else over the last few weeks and you’re acting up. Mala’s getting really worried. We all are.”

Luke slammed his locker shut with more force than was needed; Kuna jumped back out of shock, his eyes widening. “I’m. Fine.” Luke clenched his fists together, feeling his anger swell. Why couldn’t his friend just leave it?

He thought Kuna was going to drop it until he realised he’d slammed his locker shut with his bad hand and his friend was staring at the badly-wrapped bandage with horror. Luke had never been the best medic and the bandage over his fist from where he’d punched his wall just proved it. Blood was starting to stain the material.

“Luke! What happened?!” Kuna reached out to try and inspect Luke’s fist but he pulled it away and out of sight. In reality, it wasn’t as bad as it looked. Luke didn’t think it was broken and once he’d wiped most of the blood off, his knuckles had just been a deep purple. He could still move his fingers, albeit painfully.

“I walked into my door.”

“You . . . walked into your _door?_ And it was so bad that you needed to bandage your hand?” Kuna’s voice dripped with disbelief and Luke knew his friend was far too smart to believe his terrible lie. “Luke, what is going on! Seriously! Is something happening which you aren’t telling me?”

Luke wanted to say yes but his mouth formed the word no. “Why do I have to tell you anything?” The words were harsh and biting and the second he said them, Luke wanted to take them back. But Kuna didn’t back down.

“Because I’m your friend! And I care about you Luke and you’re turning up to school late, looking half-dead with a bandaged hand!”

It was another moment of silence before Kuna spoke in asofter voice. “Has . . . something happened with your father? You can tell me if so.”

“He’s not here for anything _to_ happen.”

Kuna sighed, looking suddenly very sad at Luke’s lack of answer. He knew that Vader’s absences played a lot on Luke’s mind and the blonde boy cursed himself for confiding so deeply in his friend in the past. Kuna seemed to let the matter drop.

“Ah, well I’m sure he’ll come back soon. If you need to take your mind off it, we could go to the Mall after school? Or catch that Holofilm?”

“I have a Gymnastics meet.”

Kuna frowned. “Luke, I know you quit Gymnastics weeks ago. Don’t lie to me.”

Luke flared his nostrils, the darkness in his mind swirling until he threatened to see red. He distantly wondered why he was getting so mad; Kuna was just looking out for him like a good friend and yet Luke was struggling to hold his anger in. “Why are you out here?” He changed the subject, swallowing down his anger like it was bile in his throat. “Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“Shouldn’t _you_?” Kuna shot back before sighing. “I had a ‘fresher pass. I should actually get back before Mr Thif gets mad. You coming?”

Luke was tempted to say no and storm off in a different direction. After all, the Emperor didn’t care about Luke’s academic progress. He didn’t care if Luke went to class or completed his homework and in a few weeks, Luke wasn’t even sure if he’d be going to school anymore. When he was forced to become a Sith apprentice, he doubted his education would be carried on.

But Luke found himself following Kuna anyway.

* * *

Mr Thif used to be one of Luke’s favourite teachers. He was a Bothan male with a rather wide face and thick glasses that rested over his angled nose. It was his friendly nature that had always made Luke like the man despite hating the subject he taught. Galactic Mathematics had always been something Luke was poor at and growing up, his grades had been wildly inferior to his sister’s. Yet Mr Thif had always been there to lend a helping hand when Luke struggled and more times than not, he went through Luke’s homework face-to-face to explain where’d gone wrong.

But in the past few weeks, the man’s kind nature and caring attitude had been a source of Luke’s annoyance. He always felt Mr Thif’s eyes on him at lunch, watching him like he were under scrutiny and the worry the man projected for Luke was broadcasted so clear into the Force. Luke’s recent attitude change had been noted by not just his friends.

“Ah, glad to have you finally join our class Luke,” Mr Thif raised his eyebrows when the blonde boy followed Kuna into the classroom. Everyone was working on some problems Mr Thif had set but Luke felt their eyes look up at the sound of their teacher’s voice. “I hope you have a late pass?”

Luke thought of how he’d ripped up his late pass in a fit of anger after the Reception droid had given it to him. He clenched his fists together as he took his usual seat beside Kuna, deciding no answer would be better than admitting the truth or attempting a lie.

“No?” Mr Thif sighed and Luke could feel his worry double. “Very well. I’ll let it slide just this once. Kuna, would you mind filling Luke in with all he’s missed?”

Luke paid no attention to anything his friend said as Kuna started to explain the work Mr Thif had set. His mind wandered and his eyes started to defocus as the lack of sleep caught up to him. The datapad on the desk before him began to blur and Luke had the overwhelming urge to lay his head down and catch some much needed sleep.

_“Ah, no! Please stop—“_

_“Please, have mercy, have mercy, I—“_

Luke blinked, going rigid in his seat. Kuna had stopped trying to explain once he’d realised Luke wasn’t listening and he could feel his friend’s worried gaze on him but Luke ignored it. The cold feeling spread all over his body and Luke had to resist the urge to wrap his arms around his torso to hold in his shivers. He stared ahead, not really seeing.

“—uke? Luke? Luke!” Mr Thif was loud and he cut through Luke’s disorientation, his deep voice grounding Luke to his surroundings. He was in his classroom. He was in Maths class. “Would you mind having a word with me outside?”

Luke swallowed heavily but he followed his teach anyway, ignoring the curious gazes of his classmates as he left. Once outside, he could feel Mr Thif’s worry like it were a physical thing. The man was projecting so much concern for Luke that the boy had to fight back tears. A frown set on Mr Thif’s face and he crossed his arms, looking down at Luke.

“You, uh, wanted to talk to me, sir?” His voice was scratchy and smaller than Luke would’ve liked.

“I hope you don’t mind me overstepping my boundaries here, Luke, but I’m worried about you.”

“Worried, sir?”

Mr Thif sighed. “You’ve been extremely distant lately, I’ve noticed you haven’t been spending much time with your friends and your lack of school work has been shocking. In the past month your grades have fallen to be barely passing and if you keep this sort of behaviour up, it will get to the point where serious work will need to be done in order to pass your end-of-year exams.”

Luke doubted he would even be taking those end-of-year exams. No doubt he would be some kind of monster for the Empire by then. “I understand, I’ll try harder in class, sir.” He hoped that by agreeing then the man would stop staring so intently at him.

“It’s not just that Luke; I’m worried about you and your mental health. Is something happening at home? I know I’m your teacher but you can talk to me if you need to. I’m here to help.”

Anger coursed through Luke’s bones once again at the word help. Mr Thif couldn’t _help_. No one could _help_! Luke was slowly succumbing to Dark Side the Emperor had planted inside him and there was nothing anyone, especially Mr Thif, could do about it. Only his father would understand what Luke was going through— and maybe Obi-Wan could’ve protected Luke too if he’d stuck around. But neither men were here now and the Emperor was preying on Luke’s mind like it was his to break.

“I’m. Fine.” His fists clenched and the bandaged hand with his sore knuckles ached in agonising pain. Luke focused on that pain to try and calm himself down. Yet, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed how the trashcan down the hall started to violently shake.

“Or perhaps maybe you’ve had a fight with your friends? I know you’ve preferred eating alone at lunch these past few weeks.” Mr Thif continued and even though Luke was getting angrier each second, he appreciated the fact that his teacher really was concerned over him. He wondered what Mr Thif would think in the near future when Luke would be revealed to the Galaxy as the next Sith apprentice, his eyes a terrible yellow and the soul of the happy kid his teacher once knew, gone. He wondered if Mr Thif would look back on this conversation and the past three weeks and if he’d realise why Luke had been so distant.

“Have you been spying on me, sir?” Luke swallowed harshly, feeling the cuts on his knuckles re-open as blood wept onto the bandage. His hand was screaming in pain but Luke just clenched his fist harder, trying to focus on that instead of how that trashcan in the corner was starting to spew rubbish everywhere. The darkness in his mind clouded over him and Luke felt like he had a raincloud glued over his head, striking him with anger instead of lightning.

“Not spying,” Mr Thif quickly backtracked. “I’ve been merely observant. I’m worried about your recent behaviour; you’re retreating into yourself and I want to help you.”

There was that word again: help.

Luke bit so hard on his lip that he drew blood. **_“He doesn’t care! He lies! He lies!”_** The darkness whispered and Luke could hear an echo of the Emperor’s laugh cackling in his mind. His eyes filled with tears and for a second he wondered what must be running through Mr Thif’s head right now at Luke’s emotional display.

The cold feeling was like ice in his body and Luke noticed, out the corner of his eye, that the trashcan had slowly settled down. Rubbish littered the floor for metres around it but it finally stopped shaking and Luke allowed a sense of calm to wash over him.

“I just miss my father, sir,” Luke’s voice was quiet and he blinked back his tears. “He’s been off-world for three weeks.” It technically wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t the complete truth but at least it wasn’t a lie.

Mr Thif paused like he wanted to say more but then he sighed, placing a hand on Luke’s shoulder and staring into his eyes like he was trying to show Luke just how much he cared. “He’ll return soon, I’m sure. My door is always open if you have any problems you wish to speak about and when your father does return, I would very much like for you to come see me again. I’m not a therapist, I know, but I care Luke.”

Luke swallowed like his throat was full of sand. The darkness swirled in his mind and Luke wondered how he could feel so completely alone despite his teacher reaching out to him in such a sincere way.

But the calm feeling in Luke’s mind vanished when his teacher spoke again. The anger and darkness burned like a fire in Luke’s chest and he suddenly saw red.

“I just want to help you.”

The trashcan’s lid blew up into the air with a loud bang, the contents of rubbish all being throw metres high as it rained down the corridor with unexpected force. Mr Thif jumped, turning in fright to see the cause of the noise and passing students in the hall screamed as the lid bounced on the floor like it had been thrown, coming to a final halt at the bottom of Mr Thif’s shoe.

Luke took his chance to escape, running in the opposite direction before his teacher knew he’d gone.

* * *

Leia sat on the plush sofa of the Alderaanian ships’ small living quarters, listening to Artoo recount story after story about her parents. As typical of Alderaan style, the walls were all a pristine white and the floor was spotless but the living area was cozy and warm. She’d managed to catch over an hour of rest so whilst Leia still felt exhausted, it was better than nothing.

“You are lying, Artoo!” Threepio’s voice cut through the story and if a droid could look appalled, Leia knew Threepio was perfecting that look right now. “That simply could not have happened!”

Artoo let out a whistle and Leia giggled at the words that appeared on the computer screen the astromech droid was plugged into. _And how would you know?_

“Don’t think that I don’t know you have a flair from the dramatics!” Threepio retorted back, moving his arms up and down with what little movement he could. In the few hours that the protocol droid had been charged up, Leia had come to realise that Threepio was probably the most uptight droid she’d ever met. And he seemed to argue with Artoo like bickering siblings.

Leia loved it. She could see why her parents had been so fond of the two droids.

Artoo let out a string of rude words and Leia had to hide her giggles when Threepio replied back with full offence. “How dare you, Artoo! I am none of those things! And to say such foul language in front of Mistress Leia . . . why it is appalling!”

“I’ve heard worse Threepio,” Leia smirked, turning her head back to Artoo. “You were saying, Artoo?”

 _Like I was saying before I was rudely interrupted_ ; (Threepio went to interject once again but Leia raised her hand, making him pause). _We’d just discovered that the evil droid, Stubby, was a Separatist spy. He’d locked the hanger bay doors and exit so Anakin, the Clones and everyone was trapped! And then he activated the droids to attack us so I went to the Outer-door platform so I could unlock all the exits! But evil Stubby had followed me!_

(“My oh my,” Threepio whispered to himself.)

Leia felt hooked on Artoo’s words, reading the screen like it were her favourite holo-novel each time Artoo let out a new string of beeps. “What happened next?”

_Stubby attacked me!_

(“Oh how horrible!”.)

_Then the Listening Post started falling from the sky! I saw the Republic shuttle escape and I knew everyone was safe but Stubby wouldn’t stop attacking me! I squirted fuel on him and he started falling off the platform but then he stuck a cable on me so if he fell, I fell!_

(“How ever did you survive, Artoo?”)

_I activated my jet boosters and the line of fuel leading to Stubby caught on fire! But Stubby still didn’t let the cable go so I used my power-tool to cut the cable and I was free! Evil Stubby fell and he was hit by falling debris!_

“But how did you get off?” Leia frowned, staring at Artoo in awe. “The Listening Post was falling from the sky and the Republic shuttle had already left.”

_Anakin came back and saved me. He’d flown out in his star-fighter to come get me. He did things like that a lot during the war._

Leia felt a lump rise in her throat; she’d been hearing a lot of praise about Anakin come from Artoo in the past few hours. It wasn’t hard to see from all Artoo’s stories that the friendship between her father and the droid had been genuine and cherished on both sides. And whilst it made Leia admire the man her father had been more, it made the pain about what he then did and who he became even more brutal.

“What was it like when he turned to the Dark Side?” Leia kept her voice low and even Threepio didn’t interject, hearing the sadness in her tone. “Did you know what was happening?”

Artoo let out a series of sad whistles, his dome moving around in sluggish movements. _He stopped talking to me. I knew he was scared and he was sad but he didn’t talk to me about it. He didn’t talk to anyone, not even your mother. And then he went into the Chancellor’s office and the man who came out wasn’t Anakin anymore._

Leia felt a shiver run down her spine. All her childhood, Leia had heard Obi-Wan mumble his regrets about not being on Coruscant when Anakin had turned. He’d always fisted his hands up and looked off to the side, mumbling a regret about how he’d been blind to the then-Chancellor’s manipulations. It had been a ploy to distance and isolate Anakin from those he loved him, therefore making him more vulnerable.

Which was exactly what the Emperor was again trying to do with Luke. She’d read on the Holonet that Vader was off in the Mid Rim trying to quell a rebelling planet and had been gone for several weeks. With Leia on Alderaan and Vader off-world, Leia wondered how lonely Luke was feeling. And if the Emperor really was starting to train him in the ways of the Dark Side, then his repeat of what he’d done to Anakin was working once more.

But where Obi-Wan and her mother had been too blind to see how much danger Anakin had been in, Leia refused to make the same mistakes. She would not let her brother fall into the clutches of the Dark Side. No Skywalker would lose themselves to the Sith— never again.

Artoo let out a series of beeps but when Leia looked to the computer for a translation, she realised he’d unplugged himself. “What’s wrong?”

“Artoo says that we’re leaving hyperspace, Mistress Leia,” Threepio spoke up as Artoo rolled from the living quarters back to the cockpit. “He says we’ll reach Coruscant in 15 standard minutes.”

It was time.


	6. Lunchtime Dramatics

After his discussion with Mr Thif, Luke felt an increased amount of pressure to sit with his friends at lunch. Over the past three weeks he’d found excuses to avoid their company, usually taking refuge in the library to try and hide his never-ending anger but today he knew any excuse he made up wouldn’t work.

Especially since Kuna had been eyeing him warily after he’d been forced to take Luke’s backpack with him after the boy’s abrupt disappearance during Maths. Luke hadn’t missed how Kuna’s eyes kept falling to his now openly bleeding hand, the bandage wrapped around his fist starting to look like one from a horror film. And from the way Luke’s other friends kept sneaking glances at his bleeding knuckles, he knew they weren’t oblivious either.

“So . . .” Kuna cleared his throat as the awkward tension around the table seemed to suffocate them all. No one felt comfortable enough to bring up Luke’s sudden presence after weeks of unexplained avoidance. “Did anyone see the pod-race final last night? Nal Hutta has really been stepping up their game recently.”

Mala Javal, a human girl with long-flowing red hair and a variation of freckles that were dotted across her nose and cheeks, made a frustrated noise that sounded between a grunt and a growl. She wasn’t as close to Luke as Kuna was (and Luke would deny until the day he died that he had a crush on her even though the redness of his cheeks usually gave that answer away) but she’d known Luke almost as long as Kuna had. With a mother who was a Senator and well-respected in the Imperial ranks, she often spoke her mind with little consequences.

“Are we just going to ignore how Luke has been bending over backwards to ignore us lately?” Mala frowned, resting her arms on their table as she leant forward. “Or how he clearly has a near-broken hand?”

Luke slid his bandaged hand off the table, keeping it out of view on his lap. “It’s not broken,” he mumbled, trying to keep his emotions at bay with how everyone was now staring at him like he were some kind of ticking time bomb.

“Where’ve you been Luke?” Mala ignored him. “Why have you been ignoring us?”

_Because I’ve been tainted by the Dark Side and I’m scared I’m going to hurt you._

Luke shrugged, “I don’t know, I’ve been going through a phase.” He spotted Mr Thif on the other side of the lunch hall, the man was trying to look subtle in his obvious stalking of Luke and he could feel the Bothan’s relief at Luke sitting amongst his friends. A flitter of anger sparked in his chest but Luke pushed it down. It was like swallowing a bitter pill.

“A phase.” Mala’s voice was dry and she raised her eyebrows up at him. “Right.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Kuna jumped in. “Luke’s here now so the past is past, okay?”

A Pantoran boy beside Luke cleared his throat, “Are you okay Luke? You look really tired.” The speaker, Bleys Dara, looked concerned as he faced his friend. He had short, spiky, black hair and dark blue eyes.

“If you go to the nurse I’m sure she’ll send you home,” Bleys carried on. “You can catch some sleep then.”

“I’m not tired,” Luke sniffed, trying to convince himself of that fact too. His head felt like it weighed of bricks, threatening to fall down and crash on the table in front of him. But Luke knew if he closed his eyes then his nightmares would just return and he didn’t want to explain to his friends why he heard people crying each time he slept.

Bleys’ twin brother, Blorn Dara, looked up from the hand-held video game he took everywhere. “That’s a lot of Bantha-spit. You look like a Geonosian Zombie.”

“Blorn!” Kuna snapped.

“What?” Blorn shrugged, looking unapologetic. As identical twin sons to a famed General in the Imperial navy, Luke could see the faint echo of General Dara on Blorn’s face. “Are we ignoring the fact that Luke obviously hasn’t slept in weeks?”

Luke swallowed heavily, trying to ignore the voice that was whispering in his head at Blorn’s words. **_“They’re not your friends. They don’t care about you.”_**

“You can be a real Hutt, Blorn,” Mala was glaring at the Pantoran boy. He just shrugged in reply and turned back to his video game. “Have you been sleeping badly Luke?” Mala turned to Luke, her voice becoming softer. “Is that why you were avoiding us?”

 _In, out. In, out. In, out_. _Think of Naboo_. Luke thought of the weekend mornings when he and Leia woke up early to take control of the Holonet, watching cartoons for hours before Obi-Wan finally awoke.

“I’ve been sleeping fine.” The lie was evident in the dark bags under his eyes. Mala just sat back in her seat, frowning at Luke like she didn’t trust him.

 ** _“She probably doesn’t. Who cares? You don’t need her Luke, you just need the Dark Side.”_** The voice sounded distinctly like the Emperor and it sent a shiver down Luke's spine.

“So, uh, Luke what did you think of the season finale of _Toydaria’s Most Wanted_?” Bleys’ voice was tight but he forced a smile on his face. “I totally thought Raqu was going to get arrested so when Uyta came in at the last second, I was so shocked! It was totally wizard! It was such a good ending-- I can't wait for the next season!”

Luke bit his lip, thinking back to three weeks ago when the season finale of his and Bleys' favourite show would’ve been the most important thing in the Galaxy. But now, Luke just felt empty hearing the words. “Uh, actually I didn’t catch it. Sounds interesting though.”

Blorn once again looked up from his video game, this time with a heavy frown. “You didn’t watch _Toydaria’s Most Wanted_ season finale? I thought you were raving about it for weeks? Bleys said you two had plans to watch it together but you blew him off.”

“Blorn!” Bleys glared at his brother. “I didn’t say that!”

“Yes, you did!”

Luke ignored that squabble, his mind thinking about how alike those two were to him and Leia. They used to argue like that all the time. The thought of his sister, lightyears away, brought another course of anger rippling through Luke. The last time he’d seen her had been three weeks ago on their birthday, days before Luke had been called to the Emperor’s Throne Room and his descent to the Dark Side had begun.

“ _How’s things at the Imperial Palace?” Leia had asked, taking a long slurp of her shake. They had been in their usual diner, eating junk food as the clock had ticked down the time they’d left to spend together. “The Emperor and Vader still not training you?”_

_Luke had shaken his head. He’d believed he would’ve had years before his training would’ve been brought up and he could’ve made an escape. “Nope. I told you, the deal is I stay untrained until I’m an adult.”_

_Leia hadn’t been satisfied. “You’re getting older Luke, I worry for you. I worry that the Emperor will try and corrupt you.”_

_“That won’t happen.”_

_“Promise me you won’t turn to the Dark Side,” Leia had been so serious. “Promise me.”_

_“I promise.”_

Luke shook his head at the memory, feeling like he was betraying his sister. In a way, he was. But then he reminded himself that there was nothing he could do. The Emperor was the leader of the Galaxy, anywhere that Luke ran to he would just be alone, scared and probably caught in the matter of hours. And then he’d be right back where he’d run from.

“I’ve been busy,” Luke finally replied. It wasn’t a lie.

“Busy doing what?” Kuna spoke up this time, frowning. “Gymnastics?” The clear accusation in his voice made Luke pause, clenching his injured hand once more. It ached and the pain helped him to focus.

“I don’t have to tell you everything about what happens in my life,” Luke glared, sneering at them. The anger was brewing in his chest like wildfire. It burned bright and destroyed all the goodness in Luke.

“Maybe you should tell us about whatever is _scaring_ you so much!” Mala leaned forward once more in her chair.

“I’m. Not. Scared.” But oh Force he was. He really was. The anger was becoming him and Luke felt all his rational senses get smoked out as it burned brighter than he thought possible.

When the awkward silence enveloped the table yet again, no one daring to speak, Luke thought about just how much he’d changed in the past three weeks. Pre-Emperor’s lessons Luke would’ve been laughing at this table, discussing favourite characters with Bleys, teasing with Kuna and making heart-eyes at Mala. Pre-Emperor’s lessons Luke wouldn’t be so scared about letting his anger get out of control and do something he knew he would regret.

But all of that had changed and Luke felt like a mere ghost of the person he’d once been.

Luke found himself counting his breathing, trying to push down a rising anger he had no idea how to tame. _In, out. In, out. In, out. Think of happy things, think of happy things, think of happy things . . ._ Luke could remember the fires they used to light in their garden on Naboo, him and Leia huddled underneath a thick blanket as Obi-Wan sat on the opposite side. They’d roast marshmallows and drink Nubian tea and sometimes, when Obi-Wan wasn’t too sad, he would recall a happy story about one of the many adventures he’d shared with their father when the younger man had been his Padawan.

“—so going to fail this History Quiz,” Mala’s voice drifted back into Luke’s consciousness and he fought the urge too shiver as a chill ran up his spine. He didn’t know how long it had been since he’d zoned out, retreating back into his mind. “I totally forgot that Mr Gy changed the Quiz to be today!”

“It won’t be that bad,” Bleys shrugged. “A few multiple choice answers and maybe a few 4 mark questions that require a bit of detail. You know Mr Gy is all bark no bite: he pushes for these Quizzes at the end of each topic but then he never makes them hard.”

Blorn agreed with his brother, not looking up from his video game as he spoke. “It’s just to prove we understood what he spent the last few weeks teaching.”

“Did you study Luke?” Kuna spoke in an overly friendly way and Luke knew his friend was bending over backwards to try and include him. Luke distantly wondered what his friend would think when it got revealed the Emperor had been training Luke to become a Sith apprentice— would he feel bad for missing all the signs he’d never even known were signs in the first place?

“Uh, no,” Luke admitted. Between being corrupted by the Emperor and then spending the rest of the evening in bed, trying to control the raging darkness that grew in his mind after his time with Palpatine, Luke had no time for studying or any other academic tasks.

If Mala thought she was going to fail then Luke knew he was totally screwed. For a second, he allowed himself to be plagued by the common teenage angst that had once taken up his life three weeks ago. He allowed himself to feel worried about an upcoming Quiz and obsess over how little he’d studied. It had been ages since Luke had worried about what he knew to be little things now.

But then Luke thought about what would happen after the dreaded Quiz. The school day would soon come to an end and Luke would be on his way to the Emperor’s Throne Room, feeling like he were walking to his death.

“We can fail together then,” Mala offered Luke a small smile. It was like a candle being lighted in darkness; Mala’s smile drove away a little of the darkness in Luke’s mind as butterflies started to flap their wings in his stomach. Something warm and fuzzy filled his chest as he sent back a shy smile in Mala’s direction and Luke allowed himself to stare into his friend’s eyes, marvelling at how pretty they were.

At moments like this, Luke truly thought the Dark Side that the Emperor was pushing on him couldn’t be touched.

But then Bleys cleared his throat, his voice dropping to a loud whisper as he tilted his head in Luke’s direction. “Tamara Tarkin: incoming.” The anger and the darkness returned at full speed, Luke’s fist tightening in his lap despite his knuckles burning in pain.

“Luke!” The sickly voice of Grand Moff Tarkin’s niece was sounded mere seconds after Bleys’ warning. Her brown hair was half-up and half-down, framing her narrow face and there was a sparkly diamond necklace peeking out from under her school top. She looked like the epitome of wealth and the longer she stood before Luke, the angrier he could feel himself getting.

“Go away Tamara,” Mala growled, something in her face twitching at the sight of the girl. Luke had always known Mala hated Tamara Tarkin and he doubted it would be long before she made up an excuse and ran from her presence. (Kuna always said it was because Mala liked Luke and Tamara’s unashamed flirting always made the red-haired girl feel angry but Luke doubted that was the truth).

“Oh if it isn’t Mala Javal,” Tamara’s smile was dripped in sarcasm. “Word on the grapevine is that your mother could possibly lose her upcoming re-election. It would be a shame if she lost and you got pulled out of school, wouldn’t it? I, for one, would miss you terribly.”

Mala growled a word that made even Luke feel awkward, grabbing her stuff and storming from the table like it were on fire.

Tamara just giggled slightly, sitting down in the now-empty seat. “So Luke,” she spoke as if nothing happened. As the school's bully, she was used to making others cry. “You’re going to the Senator of Coruscant’s party next week, aren’t you?”

Luke vaguely remembered promising Kuna that he would go over a month ago, before the Emperor’s training had started. In reality, Luke had forgotten about that promise since. He wondered if the Emperor would let him go to the Senator’s party given it was meant to be important for the Empire’s publicity.

“I think so,” Luke shrugged. The Emperor would probably be in attendance at the party as well, giving Luke a night off from the mind-twisting. “Kuna invited me, so—“

“Great, you can be my date,” Tamara nodded in a dictatorial way, already rising from the table. “Wear something blue; my dress will be blue and it would be charming if we matched.”

“Wait a second!” Luke’s anger spiked and it felt white-hot as it burned in his chest. “I never agreed to go with you!”

“I’m sure you would much rather go with me,” Tamara’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “Pick me up at 7, I don’t like to be kept waiting.”

“No! I’m going with Kuna!” Luke’s teeth ground together and either Tamara was oblivious to his anger or she ignored it for she set him with a look as if he’d said something stupid.

Turning to Kuna, Tamara set him with a fake and rather threatening smile. “Kuna, is it? I’m sure you understand that Luke has more _important_ people to accompany to Imperial parties. You understand that, don’t you?”

Kuna opened his mouth a few times, no words coming out. “Uhh—“

Luke clenched his fist so hard that he could feel the blood dripping between his fingers. How dare Tamara talk to Kuna like that? **_“Feel the Dark Side flow through you; feel it become you! Show her what the Dark Side is really made of.”_**

“Great!” Tamara clapped her hands together with a sadistic smile. “Glad we agreed. Luke; 7 sharp don’t forget—“

The anger wrapped around Luke like a blanket, touching every cell of his body until he felt like he was about to burst. His teeth ground together and his nostrils flared and Luke honestly felt like he were invincible for a second. Nothing stood in his way as the darkness flooded over him. Tamara was frowning now, a scared look in her eye as she took a half step back.

“Luke? Ahh—” The glass bottle of half-drunk fizzy drink that Mala had left behind suddenly exploded, bits of glass going flying and the liquid oozing out onto the table. People all around them screamed and Tamara let out a shriek as a small shard of glass embedded itself into her arm. It wasn’t deep nor threatening but tears still rolled down her face and she raced from the scene, clutching her arm like she were dying.

“What the—“ Kuna was standing a few feet from the table, staring at the pile of glass like he thought it would explode again. Now that Luke looked around, he realised that everyone else on his table par him had moved from their seats, all staring at the bottle with fear. Slowly, their eyes settled on him with a questioning look in their eyes.

It was known to all that Luke’s father had abilities no one else had. The rumours of Lord Vader’s power to choke those who failed him without even touching their throats were heard by everyone in the Empire. For years, Luke had refuted the questions asking if he could do the same.

He wondered now if anyone would believe him if he said no once more.

“That, uh, wasn’t me,” even to Luke, it didn’t sound convincing.

“Is everything okay here?” Mr Thif’s voice broke through the confusion and shock surrounding Luke’s table and Luke turned to see his teacher standing before the mess with something akin to fear in his eyes. No doubt he was thinking of the exploding trashcan.

“Luke?” Mr Thif asked warily, tentatively reaching out as if placing a hand on Luke’s shoulder would steady the boy. Luke pushed himself out of his chair before his teacher’s hand could reach him. All around him, people held their breaths.

“I’m, uh—“ he stumbled over his words and nearly tripped as he raced from the lunch hall. He could hear Mr Thif calling out for him but Luke didn’t stop. He wondered if he should check on Tamara and see if she were okay after the incident but as Luke shut the door to the single-cell ‘freshers, he knew he was in no fit state to do so.

How could he have lost control like that? What if he’d hurt someone? In a more serious way that a simple cut on the arm. What if he’d choked someone just like he knew his father was capable of doing?

When Luke had been younger and he’d watched his father lose control and strangle one of the assistants, Luke had been terrified. He’d also been completely aghast that someone could feel that level of anger— the kind of anger that made you want to hurt someone. But now, as Luke sunk to the floor and pressed his head to his knees, he knew he’d felt that kind of anger. The Dark Side swarmed in his mind and Luke knew this was how his father had been feeling on that day so many years ago now.

No matter how hard Luke tried to calm down, he couldn’t stop the stemming of tears as they ran down his cheeks and sobs racked his entire body. The darkness responded to his fear. _Think of happy things, think of happy things, think of happy things . . ._

Luke thought of Mala’s smile not too long ago and how pretty her eyes had looked as she’d tilted her head ever-so-slightly at him. He thought of her voice and the way the butterflies had fluttered in his stomach, driving away the darkness for the smallest of seconds. _“We can fail together then.”_

As the bell to signify the end of lunch rang, Luke felt slightly better. Not perfect but better.

* * *

Walking into his History classroom, Luke felt like a specimen on show at a Zoo. All eyes were on him, some full of wonder whilst others stared with fear. It was clear the incident at lunch had been whispered around and probably exaggerated. Luke wouldn’t be surprised if there was a rumour now that he’d choked someone just like his father. He purposely kept his eyes away from Tamara Tarkin's empty seat out of fear the guilt would swallow him whole.

“Luke!” Mala called out when he walked in, waving him over to sit beside her. Luke was suddenly very grateful for the fact that she’d not been present for his outburst at lunch. Whereas Kuna and the Dara twins were eyeing him with a look he couldn’t describe, Mala was looking at him like she always did.

(The butterflies in Luke’s stomach fluttered even faster when she smiled as he sat down.)

“What happened at the end of lunch?” Mala frowned. “When I came back, all of you were gone and now Bleys and Kuna are acting weird. Blorn’s always been weird so that doesn't apply to him.”

Luke tried to ignore the way Kuna was staring at him from across the room. There was a mix of confusion and fear coming off his friend that Luke couldn't help but sense. “I went to the, uh, ’fresher.”

Mala nodded like she didn’t truly believe him and Luke focused on her eyes, trying to push every other thought and fear to the back of his mind as he stared at her. The darkness swirled inside his mind but the butterflies just flapped faster and it retreated, albeit slowly.

“So . . . what did Tamara want?” Mala cleared her throat and she looked down suddenly, her cheeks going slightly red. Luke felt a little bit of the darkness regain power when she looked away. Their teacher had walked in now, already preparing for the Quiz he’d promised.

“For me to attend some party with her,” Luke frowned, recalling the memory. He could remember how angry he’d become and how his fingers had twitched as the dark side pressed him to call action upon her. “I said no.”

“You did?” Mala looked back at him, her eyes widening the slightest bit with untamed glee. “That’s, uh, great.”

Luke wanted to say more— he wanted to tell her that he thought her eyes were pretty or maybe even invite her to the party himself but the words clogged in his throat. And then his teacher cleared his throat from where he stood at the front of the class, handing out datapads that contained their Quiz.

“Alright class!” Their teacher, a human male with shaggy brown hair and a pot-belly, spoke loudly, shushing those who were still talking. “You know my rules for the Quiz: no talking, no cheating and no writing once the time is finished—“

A familiar itch in Luke’s mind disconnected him from his teacher’s voice. It tugged at the back of his mind and Luke frowned; it didn’t feel the darkness that had been plaguing him for weeks. If anything it felt . . . _bright_.

“You have 30 minutes to answer all the questions,” Mr Gy, the teacher, carried on. Luke blinked, trying to ignore the bright tugging in his mind. It was growing stronger as each second past and try as he might, he couldn’t ignore it for very long. It seemed to be fighting away some of the darkness inside him, pushing his anger back as it grew.

Tentatively, Luke reached out to find the source. What he was met with made his eyes widen and Luke went rigid in his seat. It was impossible— surely his mind was playing tricks . . .

_'Leia??'_

His sister heard his mental call, Luke could sense her silent confirmation but she didn’t respond back to him. He reached out once more and this time he realised just how strong her presence was— she was close. Really close.

“Okay class now I’ve reminded you of my rules and tolerances,” Mr Gy spoke loudly. Luke could see his classmates all picking up their light-pens, preparing to answer the questions of their set Quiz but Luke felt frozen in his chair. _What was Leia doing here?_

Mr Gy cleared his throat. “Get ready, set, go—

The door to Luke’s classroom flew open with a loud hiss as, in all her glory, Princess Leia Organa came rushing in. Her hair was messed up, her cheeks were a dark pink and there was something akin to panic in her eyes. Everyone looked at her with shock and horror but Leia either didn’t care or didn’t notice as she scanned the room for her brother, a faint tingle of relief filling Luke’s mind through their bond when their eyes met.

“Luke!” Leia was slightly breathless as she spoke and her eyes sparked once more with panic. “We. Need. To. Leave. _Now_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mala Javal is my little hint to Mara Jade since she's no longer canon :(
> 
> Next chapter the twins reunite!


	7. Reunion Part 1

By instinct, Leia preferred action to deliberation. Her nature was fast-paced and impulsive, something that Obi-Wan and Bail had spent years trying to tame but to no prevail. She’d always been impatient and reckless, never stopping to truly think of consequences or weigh out risks before she charged full steam ahead. Leia had always been practical, yes, but once she set her mind to something and her heart got involved, there was no holding her back.

As Leia ran towards Luke’s school, she wondered if she should be scared with how easy it had been to get on Coruscant. She’d half been expecting a blockade on the planet or some form of Imperial security checking for identification and yet Artoo had flown onto Coruscant’s surface with ease. And there wasn’t even a buzz of danger in Leia’s mind.

Which either meant that the Inquisitor had yet to inform the Emperor about her failings in killing Leia or Palpatine truly didn’t believe Leia was stupid enough to come to the planet where the Sith resided.

(Leia believed the former considering, from the stories Artoo had been telling her about her biological father, Leia had come to realise that half-formed, reckless and bordering-stupid plans to save someone you loved was a Skywalker trait. The astromech droid had recounted the many times that Anakin Skywalker had thrown himself into danger in order to protect and save Leia’s mother.)

“The plan is simple, okay Artoo?” Leia was breathless as she looked at the droid whizzing next to her. She was subtly impressed with how well the astromech was doing to keep up but then again, Leia wasn’t surprised. It seemed R2-D2 had a lot of tricks up his dome.

“We go in, we get Luke and then we leave,” Leia nodded at her new friend. They’d left Threepio back on the ship where they’d landed on a nearby Mall complex landing pad. It hadn’t been too far from the school but not close enough to raise suspicion. And given it was a Mall complex, the ship had blended in with many others.

Artoo let out a string of beeps which Leia guessed was a positive response. Or maybe he was remarking on how the plan was a little too simple— Leia didn’t really know. She knew it was bordering stupid, she had no back-up plan nor any idea what to do if the situation grew out of her control. Right now she was running blind into what could very well be a trap.

But if there was the smallest chance that Leia could save her brother then she knew she would take it.

Artoo beeped a question and despite only knowing him for less than a day, Leia knew he was asking about how she was planning to enter the school. It was the same question she’d been furiously trying to get an answer to ever since they’d left the ship.

There were many things they could do: break in, try to find an unlocked entrance or even get Artoo to cause a distraction but all of them required time and planning that Leia didn’t have. She was out of her territory here, in a new place where she had little knowledge of.

So she decided to be honest. “I was thinking of just running in and stunning anyone who got in the way.” Artoo let out a few beeps which sounded less than encouraging but Leia could sense Luke’s presence getting stronger and she knew it wouldn’t be long now until they arrived at his school. “It’s not like I want to Artoo! But I don’t know how long we have until the Emperor realises that I’m on Coruscant— I’m shielding my mind but who knows if he has spies watching us right now! I want to be off-planet as soon as possible and running straight in is the fastest method of doing so.”

Artoo seemed to understand but Leia could tell he didn’t like it. She was thankful Threepio had been left behind, no doubt that droid would’ve short circuited if he’d known what Leia was planning to do.

 _It’s now or never_ , Leia realised as she raced towards the entrance of Luke’s school. Any milling students who were bunking off class paid her no heed as she ran, no doubt thinking she was some do-gooder student who was late. Artoo screeched by her heels but Leia didn’t pause as she continued moving to where she knew Luke to be.

“No running!” The receptionist droid looked up from his station as Leia came bolting through the door. Despite the school’s obvious wealth, the droid seemed rather old and weary as it regarded Leia with upmost boredom and annoyance. “You’ll need a late pass. State your name—“

Leia pulled the blaster she’d been hiding out of her pocket, stunning the droid so it short-circuited and shut down. She’d found the weapon on the ship as they’d landed and silently Leia thanked Captain Antilles for always keeping the ship stocked.

Thankfully, Leia couldn’t sense anyone else nearby in the reception area, meaning she had a little bit of time before someone discovered the stunned droid and called law enforcement. Things seemed to be moving a little too quickly for Leia’s liking but she knew there was no backing down now.

“Artoo, stay here and contact me if anyone comes in or threatens to call law enforcement or the military. If Stormtroopers come then we’re as good as dead, okay?”

Artoo let out a string of whistles, moving behind the reception desk to use his cable to hide the stunned droid’s body from anyone who should enter.

As Leia half-ran through the school’s hallways, following her connection to Luke to find him, she caught sight of her appearance through a set of glass doors that held all the academic trophies won in the past. To put it mildly, Leia looked terrible. Her hair was all mussed from running, her cheeks were red and her clothes were rumpled and starting to look dirty. Her left arm was bandaged up from where she’d been attacked with the Inquisitor’s lightsaber and there was a small cut on her bottom lip from the fight that had ensued. She looked a far cry from the always-put-together Alderaan Princess.

But then Leia realised that she wasn’t technically a Princess anymore.

‘ _Leia??’_

She heard Luke’s mental call and she could feel his confusion and horror at her being here. For the first time, Leia realised just how much this would blind-side her brother. He’d been living his life like normal, believing they wouldn’t see each other for another year when suddenly she turns up and threatens to expose their secret. A secret that had, unknowingly to him, already been exposed.

With Luke’s call, Leia knew where he was and she wasted no time in charging into his classroom. She was met with around twenty eyes all staring at her, the students faces all drawn with shock and complete confusion. Leia recognised a few from Senate parties and Empire Day celebrations but she ignored them all.

Her eyes met Luke’s and the panic from before once again clenched her heart. She _had_ to save her brother. “Luke! We. Need. To. Leave. _Now_!”

* * *

Luke didn’t know what he was meant to say or how he was supposed to act. For a second he actually believed he could be dreaming but then he sensed Leia’s panic through their bond and he realised this was _real_. Leia was here. At his school. On Coruscant.

And she’d raced into his classroom as if the entire Galaxy knew they were siblings and that it was no big deal that she was lightyears away from where she was supposed to be. How was he meant to explain why the Princess of Alderaan had barged into his classroom for no reason? How was he meant to explain why she’d yelled out his name despite never formally meeting before?

Luke could sense everyone’s confusion and shock in the room and the amount of eyes that were now on him made his cheeks threaten to turn red. Leia, however, seemed unfazed at the attention.

“Luke!” Leia spoke again, a hint of urgency and impatience ebbing into her tone. She was talking to him like when they’d been children and he’d purposely been slow in getting ready just to annoy her. Obi-Wan had always made the twins leave and walk together to go to school and it had become a regular argument in the mornings that Luke took too long and Leia had little patience. “Don’t just sit there! Let’s _go_!”

His confusion and shock didn’t go away but Luke found himself replying. “Go . . . where? _Why_?” Luke pinched his arm just to check that he really wasn’t dreaming. Nope. This was really happening. He squirmed in his seat, feeling ready to crawl under the table with the amount of disbelief his classmates were projecting into the Force.

And, honestly, Luke could understand their feelings. Here was the Princess of Alderaan, her hair frazzled and her clothes unkempt, yelling at an Imperial Prince to leave with her without any context or understanding. After years of acting like they didn’t know each other and even going out of their way to avoid the other at Empire Day Celebrations, it was being exposed that they were in fact acquainted. And that they knew each other well.

The longer Luke stared at his sister, the more his worry grew. Something serious was going on and if Leia’s first reaction was to screw the consequences and barge into Luke’s school to drag him away during the daylight hours, then he realised that whatever had happened had been bad. Really, really bad.

Coupled with her frazzled appearance, the cut on her lip, the worn-clothes and the subtle bandage on her arm, Luke didn’t even want to imagine what could warrant her being here and looking like she did.

“Luke! I’ll explain everything as we leave, we just need to g—“

“Excuse me!” Mr Gy, Luke’s History teacher, cut into Leia’s exclamations with an outrageous voice. He was staring at Leia with incredulity, like he would a misbehaving student, and Luke realised that his poor teacher hadn’t recognised who his sister was. Mr Gy believed Leia to be a misbehaving student hell-bent on disrupting his class and reigning havoc on the Quiz he’d prepared.

“We are about to partake in a Quiz,” Mr Gy carried on, trying to lay down his authority. “What is your name? Your behaviour will not go unpunished— you cannot barge in here and disrupt our lesson like this! I will not tolerate this disturbance and you can trust that once I start this Quiz, you and I will be going to the Headteacher’s office for a word.”

Perhaps, had it been anyone else, they would’ve shied away from Mr Gy’s disciplinary tone and apologised. However, Leia was Leia and she just regarded Luke’s teacher with a bored look. Honestly, Luke knew he was no saint but his teachers had no idea how easy they had got it when Luke had been found by Vader and not his sister.

“Luke, seriously we need to go.” Leia turned back to her brother like the teacher hadn’t even opened his mouth. In response, Mr Gy spluttered at the lack of respect. Luke could see a few of his classmates smirking at her attitude out of the corner of his eye but he ignored them all.

Mr Gy seemed to realise that talking to Leia was a lost cause for he turned to where Luke sat, frozen, in his chair. It was like Luke’s mind wasn’t working. He didn’t know what he was meant to do. Leia had already exposed the fact that they knew each other and Luke didn’t know how they were meant to recover from that. What was he meant to tell his father when Vader no doubt got wind of the fact the Princess of Alderaan had barged into his son’s classroom, yelling said-son’s name?

_Ah, well Father, I met Princess Organa on Empire Day. We were fast friends!_

_I met Princess Organa through pure coincidence— I swear Father!_

_We don’t really know each other very well, Father . . . I don’t know why she came to my school!_

All of the lies fell flat in Luke’s head and he wondered if Leia’s damage here would blow up the whole cover-up of their birth. It would be revealed that they were twins . . . that Obi-Wan had taken them to Naboo . . . that they were Force sensitive and subtly trained. Luke couldn’t even imagine how his Father would feel to discover his son had been lying for the past 5 and a half years. And that his son had helped hide a daughter from him.

“You know this girl, Luke?” Mr Gy set his intimidating stare on Luke, making him squirm more in his seat. It wasn’t like he could say no when he very clearly did know who Leia was.

“Uh . . . we’ve met before, yes.”

Mr Gy nodded curtly, still reacting like he was trying to control unruly students who thought they could exercise their privilege to underhand him. “Then perhaps it should be the _two of you_ who I march down to the Headteacher’s office, hm? This appalling behaviour ends now— both of you: outside.”

“Will you shut up for a second?” Leia huffed, glaring at the teacher like he was personally insulting her. Luke could tell that she was getting more and more agitated as each second passed, like she was expecting something bad to happen at any given moment. He’d never seen Leia be so frazzled before and her panic was being projected into the Force like shock-waves.

_What was going on?!_

“How dare you speak to me like that! I’m a teacher at this school and no matter your parent’s position, you should respect my authority! Who do you think you are?”

For a second, Luke thought Leia was going to ignore Mr Gy but then she turned around and set him with a sickly sweet smile, filled with sarcasm and a small threat.

“Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan.”

Luke didn’t even need the Force to know Mr Gy had not been expecting that answer. The elder man took a small step backwards like he’d been physically hit and he made a spluttering sound of pure disbelief. “Princess— Princess Organa?” The look of realisation crossed the teacher’s face and immediately, his entire demeanour changed to one of worry. “Princess, what are you _doing_ here? You’re hurt! Have you been attacked?”

Leia made a noise of frustration, rolling her eyes as she turned back to Luke with an expectant expression. “Well? Are you just going to sit there? Come on Luke, we need to go! We need to get off-world and we need to _hide_!”

Again, Luke was stumped. Where was this coming from? 3 weeks ago he’d seen Leia and everything had been fine: they’d snuck out to celebrate their birthday and snuck back in undetected. Vader, like normal, had left the second the celebrations for Empire Day had ended and therefore not noticed his son’s disappearance. When Luke had last seen his sister, Leia had been calm and even excited about the next chapter in her life for Bail’s birthday present to her had been letting her join the Youth Legislature Programme. They’d parted sadly like they always did but nothing had been out of the ordinary.

Luke knew a lot could happen in 3 weeks— after all, in that time he’d been forced to start training in using the Dark Side and had seen significant changes in his anger— yet he couldn’t wrap his head around what could’ve changed so much that Leia blew apart their whole cover-up. She was risking her own safety by being here and exposing their secret. Luke suddenly grew cold at the idea of the Emperor trying to train Leia like he was him.

“Leia, _you_ need to get out of here!” Luke matched his sister’s panic as he stood up from his seat so they were more at eye-level. The longer she was here, making disruptions like this, the more chance the Emperor would discover the truth about her. And Luke never wanted what was happening to him to happen to his sister. The idea of Leia being consumed by the same darkness that threatened him made Luke feel cold.

“I’m not going without you!” Leia shot back, startling the class with her outburst. Luke’s classmates had all been holding their breaths, watching between Leia, their teacher and Luke like it were some sort of sport match. All their eyes were wide and the confusion circling the room was almost suffocating.

Luke almost didn’t want to ask. “What happened on Alderaan?”

Immediately, Leia’s face morphed into one of pain. Luke could sense her hurt and the subsequent guilt as if it were his own. Something very, very bad had happened to his twin recently and Luke was starting to realise that perhaps maybe they’d gone past the point of being able to keep their secret hidden.

“I was attacked,” Leia stated the obvious with a tremble in her voice that only Luke— only the person who knew her best— could hear. “It was earlier this morning— really, really early. It doesn’t matter now,” there was something in her eyes that made Luke believe that it really _did_ matter but she was trying to brush off her pain. “What matters is that I learned something horrible— it’s the reason for why we have to get off-world soon before it’s too late.”

“And why should we believe you?” Luke turned to see Mala eyeing Leia up with pure suspicion. Mala had never been the friendliest of people but the complete look of dislike that she was showing Luke’s twin was a stretch, even for her. It was clear Mala didn’t trust Leia— and was possibly even trying to be protective of Luke.

“Did I ask for your opinion?” Leia didn’t miss a beat to shoot back. Distantly, Luke thought that had things been different and the twins had been discovered by Vader and taken in at the same time, Mala and Leia would’ve probably been fast friends.

Mala’s face contorted with anger. “You can’t just break into our school and start yelling at Luke! I don’t care if you’re a Princess, you can’t treat Luke this way!”

Leia responded with an eye-roll that only infuriated Mala more.

“How do you guys know each other?” Luke recognised Kuna's voice. He was staring at Luke with pure confusion. “I thought you said you didn’t know Princess Organa, Luke?”

Luke knew he was the worst liar in the Galaxy; that sort of thing had always been Leia’s expertise and he’d never felt the need to become the best liar he could be. Luke much preferred an honest approach in life. Yet, now, Luke cursed his inability to lie.

“When— when did I say that?” Luke cleared his throat, hating how suddenly squeaky he sounded as he faced his best friend. Kuna was looking at him like Luke was a puzzle he needed to solve, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

“Last month Blorn made a comment about Princess Organa— my apologies, uh, Princess Leia, it wasn’t anything bad I swear— and you went off on a rant about respect and that Princess Organa shouldn’t be degraded like that. And then Mala asked why you were so upset about it and asked if you knew her but you said no. You said no, Luke. But you _do_ know her; why did you lie?”

Leia seemed to be finished with the small talk but for the sake of moving on to talk about what really mattered, she humoured the current conversation. “We’re old friends, it doesn’t really matter Kuna.”

Luke’s friend whipped his head around to stare wide-eyed at Leia. He looked like someone who’d just unravelled a huge conspiracy. “How do you know my name?”

Leia cursed herself, wondering if it would help or complicate the situation more if she slammed her head into the wall right now. She’d never been so careless before but the unease of being on Coruscant— being on the same planet as the Emperor who was trying to kill her— made it difficult to think straight. Every few seconds she found herself glancing at the door as if Stormtroopers were about to barge in. The comlink in her hand felt heavy as she awaited the second when Artoo screeched a warning through about unwanted company arriving.

“Uh, Luke’s mentioned you before.” In hindsight she should’ve thought up a good lie to cover her tracks but it was too late now. She knew who Kuna was through Luke’s stories as they’d celebrated their birthday and he’d even shown her Holo’s of the two friends together to put a face to the name. Leia knew Kuna was a good friend to her brother.

“You have?” Kuna looked at Luke like every second was becoming more confusing than the last. “When?”

Luke was about to stumble out a reply when Mr Gy spoke up once more. His voice was less angry than it had been before and he seemed to understand the situation before him as extremely delicate. “I think we should take this discussion elsewhere,” he cleared his throat. “Uh, Princess Organa and Luke, would you like to follow me to the Headteacher’s office so we can talk privately?”

“No time,” Leia shook her head, finally done with all the small talk. “Luke and I are leaving.”

“No we aren’t!” Luke grew angry at the lack of information she was giving him. He knew she’d been attacked on Alderaan but he didn’t know how serious it had been nor who the attacker had been. As a Princess, Leia was a public figure who many would want silenced. As much as Luke hated it, his sister was subjected to countless assassination attempts because of her position and Organa’s place on politics.

So why was one failed assassination attempt so serious that Leia had travelled across the Galaxy to yell at him about?

“Yes we are!” Leia shot back, her eyes sparking with the familiar anger Luke knew all too well. He silently wondered if the Emperor had made a mistake in choosing the wrong twin to train in the Dark Side.

“Why?” He could feel his anger rising as his fists clenched by his side. His bruised knuckles ached. The darkness in his chest and mind grew and responded to his frustrations until it was like a fire was burning inside of Luke. **_“She is a threat to you,”_** the Emperor's voice whispered in Luke’s mind. **_“She seeks to destroy your power.”_**

“Because he _knows_!” Leia stressed and Luke could hear the anger, fear and desperation that laced her voice. Leia was scared— she was absolutely terrified and for the first time, Luke understood why. “ _He knows!_ ”

Suddenly, it all made sense. Why Leia was here, why she’d been attacked and why she’d not hesitated to barge in and demand they leave. The Emperor knew the truth about them and Luke realised that it didn’t matter anymore about the show they were pulling in front of his classmates. None of their opinions mattered; it didn’t matter if they found out the truth or if Leia was careless in showing she knew who Luke was. The man who they’d been hidden from— the most dangerous man in the Galaxy who they’d been forced to separate and hide from— knew the truth about their shared parentage and the threat they faced to him.

And he wanted Leia dead.

 **_“She is a threat to you; she will not hesitate to steal your powers from you. She must be stopped— you must stop her!”_ ** ****

As the Emperor’s voice crooned in his head and the darkness still swirled in his mind like a fog, Luke realised that Leia was still talking. “—which is why we have to leave, Luke! Now! So let’s cut the chat and go, okay?”

The voice that came out of his lips was only a whisper but Leia heard it perfectly. “You need to get out of here Leia, okay? _You_ need to leave now. If he knows then it’s _you_ who is in danger.” The very fact that the Emperor had discovered their secret and sent out an assassin to kill Leia and not Luke proved that it was actually his sister who was in danger and not him. The anger in his mind grew even more as he thought of how reckless she’d been to come to the Empire’s capital hours after the leader of their Galaxy issued her death sentence.

“I’m not going without you.”

Luke felt ready to punch a wall as his anger and fear doubled. Why couldn’t Leia just do as she was told? He was telling her to leave! So she should leave! A small voice in his mind knew his reaction was too extreme and completely unlike him but the anger pushed that voice away and latched itself onto Luke’s mind like a virus.

“Just leave!” He roared and even a few of his classmates jumped in their seats, their eyes wide and their fear evident without even needing to use the Force to feel it. **_“Good, good. Use your anger— feel the raw power circling inside of you. You must stop this threat, you know that don’t you? You must stop her before she steals what is rightfully yours!”_**

“Leia, leave,” Luke forced himself to calm down, his words coming out as a rugged whisper as he tried to control himself. Could she not see that she was in danger here? And it wasn’t just the Emperor who endangered her. Luke could feel his own anger brewing larger and larger, threatening her presence here as well.

“Princess Organa . . .” Mr Gy’s voice was scratchy and he had to clear his throat with a lot of force. His skin was paler than usual from Luke’s outburst and he could feel the anger radiating from the boy, something which he’d never seen before. The faculty at school had all made remarks on Luke Vader’s changed demeanour in the past few weeks and been worried about the boy’s mental state. It was clear to all of Luke Vader’s teachers that something was happening in Luke’s life that was causing him great distress but after a short conversation with Mr Thif, the Math teacher had told faculty that Luke simply missed his father. Being off-world a lot as the Emperor’s enforcer, it wasn’t outlandish to believe that Luke was feeling lonely because of his father’s absences.

But now, with how Luke Vader seemed to be radiating anger like some kind of raw emotion was gripping him in it’s chokehold, Mr Gy wondered if there was more than simply missing his father at play here. “You heard Luke loud and clear, perhaps it is time to leave? I can walk you to the Headteacher’s office and we can discuss the seriousness of what is going on. We can also comm the Alderaan embassy to come collect you and provide whatever help and security you need if you truly have been attacked.”

Mr Gy’s confusion only grew when Princess Leia’s eyes filled with tears and her lip wobbled. He could see the heartbreak written clear across her face and he wondered what had garnered such a reaction.

“I’m too late, aren’t I?” Leia whispered and she blinked heavily to avoid any tears from falling down her cheeks. She felt like her heart had been ripped out her chest as she felt Luke’s swirling anger through the Force. Darkness swamped Luke like she’d never seen before and he suddenly felt almost as cold as Vader did whenever Leia sensed him on Empire Day. She’d half been hoping that her vision of the Emperor training Luke had been a warning for what would soon occur but now she realised that it was already too late and seeds of the Dark Side had already been planted in her brother’s mind.

“Too late for what? Princess Organa do you need some sort of help?” Mr Gy didn’t know how he was meant to handle this situation. 12 years he’d been a teacher, 10 of them being spent here at this very school in this very classroom and yet he’d never encountered a situation like this before. How was one meant to react when a Princess from a Core World disrupted your class, yelled at students and then seemed to be close to a mental breakdown? Mr Gy wondered if he should’ve called security or a psychologist about 20 klicks ago.

“Leia,” Luke rolled his eyes. “You don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t I? So the Emperor isn’t trying to _defile_ you?!”

Mr Gy’s eyes blazed— it was one thing to disrupt his class and spew nonsense but it was another thing to make treasonous claims. “Alright, that’s enough! I’ve been lenient throughout all of this— whatever _this_ is— but you cannot make treasonous and unjust exclamations about the Emperor. I’m going to have to ask you to leave Princess Organa before I call security and they force you to leave." ****

But Leia just ignored the teacher once more, her eyes boring into Luke like she was searching for something. “Luke, this isn’t you. Don’t let him do this— don’t let him corrupt you just like he did Anakin!”

**_“She lies! I am showing you your true power; your father knew it too. She must be stopped before her lies threaten to steal all the power you were born to inherit! Silence her!”_ **

Luke’s fists clenched even tighter that his knuckles turned white; the Emperor’s words in his head were latching and growing with unstoppable force. What did Leia know? She couldn’t feel the raw power Luke could feel growing in his fingertips and unlike him, she was scared of what that power could bring.

(A small part of Luke was scared what the power would bring too but the darkness quenched it before he even realised that small part existed.)

It was like looking through a red lens as Luke flared his nostrils, the anger stretching to every cell in his body. The raw power hummed. “I won’t turn to the Dark Side.” He knew it was a lie but at this moment he didn’t care; it was like the darkness knew what threat Leia faced to him and was growing faster and stronger to protect him.

“I bet Anakin said that too— and now look at him.”

 **_“Silence her! Once you take out her threat, you will be unstoppable! The power of the Dark Side will be yours and nothing will stand in your way.”_ ** ****

For a second, Luke imagined what that would feel like. If he felt this powerful at just the echo of the Dark Side, he could only imagine how intoxicating the full power would be. The darkness hummed, pressing him to do as the Emperor’s voice asked. The idea of being unstoppable was almost too much— Luke thought of all he could do, all he could change and all he could control.

“You’re already using the Dark Side!” Leia sounded truly heartbroken and Luke could feel an echo of her pain across their bond. It beat some of the darkness down and an echo of guilt filled his chest but it was drowned out in his anger almost as soon as he felt it. “You’re letting the Emperor kill you!”

“He won’t kill me.”

“Not physically, no, but in every way except physical that matters, he will.”

“I knew the Royal House of Alderaan were Rebel sympathisers but you’re making enemies here, Princess Organa,” a Pantoran boy spoke up. He was glaring daggers at Leia like she was personally insulting him and Leia vaguely recognised him from one of Luke’s Holos. “And if you think you can turn Luke Vader— Lord Vader’s son, the Emperor’s Right Hand Man— against the Empire and the Emperor himself then you’re delusional. You deserve to be arrested and committed for treason for even thinking about spreading Rebel propaganda.”

“That’s enough Blorn,” Mr Gy seemed worried.

“I’m being honest, sir!” Blorn continued on and Leia noticed an identical Pantoran boy sitting not too far away. So these were some of Luke’s friends; she remembered from his stories that he was good friends with a set of identical twins. “Princess Organa is proving herself to be anti-Imperial and a Rebel mascot by tarnishing the Emperor’s name like she is! It’s disgraceful!”

“Do you know what’s disgraceful?” Leia found her own anger spiking. But where Luke’s anger was being controlled and brewed from the Dark Side, Leia refused to let her anger be owned. These were her emotions and she refused to let the Emperor have any sort of hold on them. “The fact that this Empire is built on blood and lies. There is no peace in this government— how can there be when the Imperial forces take it upon themselves to massacre and destroy the lives of those who have little importance to them? If they see no face-value in a system or a species then they crush it like they never existed. That is not justice. That is not security. You all sit here with your privilege and your wealth whilst millions are being evicted from their homes and murdered because the Emperor only cares about himself.”

“This is becoming serious, Princess Organa I will be calling security and pressing charges of treason upon you.” Mr Gy was no longer playing around and Leia knew her time here was cutting short.

“Do it,” Leia scoffed. “I have no love for the Empire— in fact I despise it. And its leaders. I _am_ a part of the Rebel Alliance and you cannot silence my voice because what you hear from me, is also coming from thousands of beings who are all collecting together to form an Alliance against the Empire. And trust me when I say, they will _burn_ it to the ground.”

“You’re a part of the Rebellion?” Kuna looked scared as he stared at Leia, his eyes quickly going to Luke like he feared for his life. It was almost ironic. “Luke, you can’t trust her or what she says! Don’t listen to her!”

“You would want Luke to stay here and become a monster like Vader?” Leia almost couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How could they not see that Luke was being twisted into a shadow of who he once was? How could they not see the light in his eyes slowly being dimmed out? The Emperor was crushing his soul with his darkness and his anger and Leia knew that soon, her brother would become Vader 2.0.

“Luke isn’t a monster!” Kuna growled. “Don’t say such things!”

**_“Do it now, silence her. Then you will truly become my apprentice and the power of the Dark Side will be yours. This is what you were born to be!”_ **

Leia seemed to know that it was her voice vs every single occupant in this room. Coupled with the Emperor’s grip on Luke’s mind, she was severely out-numbered and outmatched. But she was Luke’s twin and Leia realised that if she couldn’t talk sense into him then no one could.

Despite Luke’s passivity to the Dark Side and how happy he seemed in its clutches right now as it coursed through his veins, she knew the real Luke— the Luke she’d seen on their birthday— wouldn’t want this. Just like Obi-Wan had known the Padawan he’d raised would never have wanted the darkness that he succumbed to in the end, Leia knew she couldn’t sit back and watch Luke die. By the time Obi-Wan and their mother had realised how far Anakin had fallen, it had been too late. From Obi-Wan’s stories, Leia knew that by the time Padme Amidala tried to talk sense into her husband and save him from the Emperor’s lies, Leia’s father had already died. It had been Vader on Mustafar.

The twins had become fatherless days before their birth and no one had even known. The man raising Luke now was not Anakin Skywalker, their true father. It was the toy and the pawn Palpatine had moulded with his own bare hands.

And Leia refused to fail Luke the way Obi-Wan and Padme had failed Anakin.

“Think of Padme Amidala, Luke. Think of how she died: heartbroken and destroyed by what her husband had done and who he’d become. What would she think if she saw you right now? How devastated would she be if she knew that history was repeating itself once more and the Emperor was succeeding in making a pawn out of another Skywalker. You know the tragedy of Anakin— you’ve seen first hand of how your father fell and how submerged in darkness and evil he is— why would you want that for yourself? Why would you let the Emperor do that to you?”

“I don’t have a choice!”

“You always have a choice! You’re better than this— you’re too _good_ for this Luke. You’re the best of us all and if the Emperor manages to twist you into Vader 2.0 then what hope does anyone else have? Come with me— leave with me and we can fight him together! We can get justice for Anakin and for Padme and for the _entire kriffing Galaxy_!”

Luke had always known Leia had a skill for making convincing arguments; she’d been a key debater on the team at their primary school and had things not gone as skewered as they were now, Luke knew she would’ve made a fine Senator for Alderaan. But it wasn’t just the absolute sense she was spouting that made Luke listen, it was also her passion. Leia was desperate and she was pressing for him to listen, to understand and to hear her. She didn’t want him going down the path the Emperor had set out for him and no matter how controlling the darkness in his head became, Luke knew he didn’t want to either.

**_“Silence her! Destroy her! She is a threat to you and all we can achieve! She wants to steal your power before you can reach your full potential! She must be stopped!”_ **

_She was a threat_ , Luke’s anger told him that. Leia wanted to steal the Dark Side from him and strip him of its power. She wanted to steal his birthright and she wouldn’t hesitate to do so. She had to be stopped. Right?

“Luke,” there was something resigned and broken in his sister’s voice now. She seemed to be all out of her fight and was laying her cards down before her, without any deception. Luke knew how hard it was for Leia to be vulnerable, especially in front of a crowd, but she didn’t pause. “I can’t lose you. _Please_ don’t make me lose you. I don’t want to fight you or see you become a twisted version of who you once were. I don’t want to be like Obi-Wan and spend the rest of my life thinking about what I should’ve done and regret what I didn’t do. All I’ve ever wanted is for you to live a long and happy life— can you honestly say you’re happy here, allowing the Emperor to defile you?”

**_“Ignore her; strike her down. Strike her down! You know you can do it. You know the power you will get— the power you’ll unleash— once you destroy her threat. Do it and you will be unstoppable. Her threat must be extinguished!”_ **

But Leia wasn’t a threat, Luke’s rational mind argued. The bond he shared with Leia glowed bright, all of his lasting goodness pushed back there as the darkness threatened to take over.

_Can you honestly say you’re happy here?_

Leia’s words were like a bullhorn in his head, playing over and over again on repeat. As the darkness started to cloud his vision and he felt untameable power rise up in his chest, his fingers twitching to do some unspeakable acts, Luke paused.

_Can you honestly say you’re happy here, allowing the Emperor to defile you?_

Luke thought to every evening in the past three weeks when he’d finally been free from the Emperor’s cold presence. Every night he’d run back to the safety of his bedroom, he’d lock the door and he’d spend hours trying to stop the Dark Side from taking over. Tears would roll down Luke’s cheeks and he’d think of Naboo and happier times to quell the anger that had lodged itself into his heart.

And Luke would always feel so bone-chillingly cold.

_Can you honestly say you’re happy here?_

No.

**_“Kill her, kill her now! Your power will be untameable!”_ **

But Luke didn’t want power— he didn’t want the Dark Side and he didn’t want to be the Emperor’s next weapon. The screams from his nightmares echoed around in his head, their cries all mingling into one as they begged for mercy. Luke didn’t want to hurt those people; he didn’t want to cause untold death and destruction upon the Galaxy.

The Dark Side was consuming and the power felt unbeatable, yes, but Luke knew the Dark Side only corrupted and shattered everything. And Luke wanted no part in that.

“Okay.”

His voice was quiet and Luke felt the Dark Side swirl heavier inside his mind, like it knew it was losing the fight but Luke focused solely on Leia and the brightness of their bond. She wasn’t a threat— in fact, she was the person most on his side. Whether she’d heard it or not, Leia had answered his call for help.

Leia looked skeptical at his answer, taking a small step back. “Okay?"

Luke focused on his familial bond with Leia, the Emperor’s nasty whisperings fading in his mind until they were almost unintelligible. He knew this was goodbye to the life he’d been living for the last 5 and a half years. He would never go home to the Imperial Palace again, he’d never see LR again and this would be the last time he stepped foot in his school. It would be a long time until he saw his friends again and when (or if) he did, Luke would be branded a traitor in their eyes.

But Luke’s life here was coming to an end anyway and he would much rather be a traitor than a monster.

“I’ll come with you.”

And Leia smiled like all the hope in the Galaxy had been restored.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaand the twins are back! 
> 
> I wont be able to post next week due to an increased busy schedule so I'll post another chapter on Saturday and should be back to a usual posting schedule by the 14th.


	8. Escape

The uproar Luke was met with after he’d agreed to leave with Leia was almost deafening— and yet completely expected. It was like some sort of terrible Holo-drama, everyone gasping and spewing insults that branded Leia a traitor for ‘manipulating’ Luke in such a way.

“Luke! Luke, no!” Mala was standing before him now, trying to block out Leia from Luke’s vision. But Luke didn’t need to see his sister’s face to know she was insanely happy— and relieved. Her genuine solace helped fight some of the darkness in Luke’s head.

“Luke— listen to me,” Mr Gy was extremely pale, his eyes wide like he’d just seen a ghost. “Princess Organa is manipulating you— she is an agent of the Rebellion and she wants to use you as a weapon against your father. The Rebel Alliance has been targeting the sons and daughters of high-ranking Imperials for years! She’s sprouting Rebel propaganda and her crimes will be justly met with punishment.”

“Luke,” Mala voice was shaking as she stared at him with sadness in her eyes. “Don’t do this. You know what’ll happen if you do.”

He’d be named a traitor. Seen as an enemy to the Empire. Hunted down like an animal, all in the name of Palpatine.

But Luke would take that— he’d take Mala’s sad eyes over her looking at him with complete fear— and Luke knew life on the run would forever be better than turning to the Sith.

“I know,” he nodded, feeling sombre as everyone held their breath in his class. “I know what I’m doing. And whether you think it’s the right thing or not, it’s the right thing for me.”

“How can you say that? How can you betray the Empire like that?” Blorn was standing now, looking angrier than Luke had ever seen him. Bleys was looking fearful from his seat not too far from his brother.

Leia crossed her arms over her chest, matching the boy’s scowl. “Have you ever considered that the Empire betrayed the Galaxy? That it betrayed its people?”

“Why are you _letting_ her talk lies into your head?” Mala seemed to become more distressed. “ _Why_?”

“I’m not—“

“You’re the son of the Emperor’s Right Hand Man,” Bleys spoke up. “You don’t think it’s disturbing that she’s focusing on you? It’s clearly a Rebel attack to try and destabilise the Empire!”

“It’s not a Rebel attack!” Luke argued but his voice was drowned out by the cries of other students pitching in.

 _‘Why are we even listening to this? Let’s goooo!’_ Leia seemed to be at the end of her patience now, her aggravation clear through their bond. Luke had to admit she had a point. Their time for escape was running short and it would do no good to try and settle things with his friends right now.

A sudden flurry of loud beeps and whistles filled the air, cutting into the yells and insults of Luke’s classmates. The door to Luke’s classroom had been opened by an astromech droid who whirled into the room with uncontrolled panic, practically slamming into every wall before stopping by Leia’s feet. The droid let out a few more panicked whistles.

“Artoo! What are you doing here? You were meant to be on guard!” Leia frowned down at the astromech droid. “What part of ‘comm me if law enforcement comes’ do you not understand?”

The droid whistled and beeped some more. Luke couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows, wondering who this droid could be. His sister had never mentioned owning an astromech droid before.

“Are there guards?” Leia suddenly looked fearful. “How many?”

Artoo whistled once again but judging by Leia’s frustrated look, she couldn’t understand what he’d said.

The look of panic in his sister’s eyes when she turned her gaze back to him told Luke that whatever was happening wasn’t good. It seemed their escape was suddenly more complicated. “Luke! Time’s up, we need to go!”

“Luke,” Kuna’s voice caused the boy to pause. Where everyone else had stood up, Kuna remained in his seat with a sad look on his face. There was something understanding in his eyes and Luke watched as his friend looked down to Luke’s bandaged hand, something hard overtaking his expression. He nodded once. “Good luck.”

The amount of gratitude that blossomed in Luke’s chest helped to fight some of the darkness and he nodded back at his closest friend, hoping Kuna could see how much Luke appreciated him from the look in his eyes alone.

“I’m leaving from my own free will— I don’t expect you to understand but I hope you can appreciate my choices,” Luke kept his voice steady, sparing one last at his school friends before following Leia out the classroom door with the astromech droid on their heels. Mr Gy was shouting Luke’s name, a panicked edge to his voice but the twins were too busy racing down the corridor to the entrance of the school to pay him any attention.

“Stop!” A sudden yell from up ahead cause both Luke and Leia to skid to a halt. At least a dozen Stormtroopers, all dressed in the iconic bulky suits, stood lined up outside the reception area. Their blasters were raised and pointed at the twins. “An intruder has been reported at this school; either surrender now or be brought to immediate justice.”

Luke was about to suggest feigning innocence since the Stormtroopers couldn’t know for sure that the intruder was in fact Leia but his sister had already whipped out a blaster from her pocket and shot a stun blast at the trooper speaking. He fell to the floor, unconscious, and Luke let out a yell when the rest of the squad started firing at them. Luke ran behind a half-wall, cringing back each time a blaster bolt came dangerously close to him and he watched as Leia hid behind a trophy cabinet, doing the same. Artoo followed Leia, letting out an ear-splitting shriek.

 _‘Wow, good going Leia! How the kriff are we meant to get out of this one?!’_ He felt, more than saw, Leia’s eye roll at his sarcastic words through their bond.

A blaster bolt chipped some of the wood off the cabinet Leia was using as a shield, pressing herself close to the wall as the troopers walked a little closer. Their fire paused when Mr Gy came running around the corner, out of breath and red faced, his hands were raised in the air and there was a look of terror in his eyes.

“Stop! Cease fire!” Mr Gy half-yelled and panted at the troopers. “Don’t shoot him!” He pointed to where Luke was pressed against the wall. He then pointed at Leia. “She’s a Rebel! She admitted to being a part of the Rebel Alliance!”

“Come out with your hands up, Rebel!” Another trooper yelled, stepping over the body of their unconscious comrade. “Any hostility will be met with swift action.”

Luke shook his head at Leia from across the hallway, his eyes wide as he mouthed “no!” But Leia, like usual, didn’t listen. He watched in horror as his sister peaked out of her hiding place, shooting a few stun blasts at the troopers with two managing to hit their marks. At once, the Stormtroopers resumed their fire but this time, it was all focused on Leia. The wood of the trophy cabinet was turning to rubble and Luke knew it wouldn’t be long until his sister was exposed and left without coverage. Even the astromech droid was getting agitated, its dome twisting around and making loud whistling sounds.

And Luke knew there was no way either of them would raise their hands (or dome) in defeat.

“Luke!” Mr Gy was motioning at Luke to come with him from down the hall where Luke and his sister had come from. “Come here! I’ll get you out of harms way!”

But Luke didn’t move. They were greatly out-numbered and with the troopers blocking the school’s entrance, there was no way of escape. If they turned and ran back where they’d come from, their backs would be exposed and Luke knew his sister would be shot.

“Luke!” Mr Gy tried again but Luke turned his eyes to where Leia was pressed against the wall on the opposite side to where he stood. Her hands were gripping her blaster like a lifeline but they both knew one blaster wouldn’t be able to protect her from the blaster fire the troopers were shooting with. But then his eyes fell to something peaking out of her pocket . . . it couldn’t be . . .

But it was. The hilt of their father’s lightsaber was peaking out of Leia’s pocket and Luke didn’t allow himself time to feel shocked or even annoyed that his sister had clearly stolen it from Obi-Wan 6 years ago. He reached out his hand, closed his eyes and allowed himself to feel the Force around him.

_Come to me . . ._

Where the use of the Force had left Luke feeling cold and immersed in darkness for the past three weeks, this time Luke felt calm. He felt serene. The Light Side of the Force filled his bones and Luke remembered his basic training with Obi-Wan, letting the goodness wash over him and cleanse his mind from the claws the Emperor had dug into his skull.

_Come to me . . ._

Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber shot across the room, finding its way into Luke’s palm like it belonged there. He could remember holding it as a child, letting his imagination run wild with thoughts about becoming a powerful Jedi just like his father had once been. But now was not the time to dream: it was time to act.

 _‘Luke, what are you doing?!’_ Leia sent across their bond and he could feel her shock and nervousness as she watched him unravel the bandage around his hand and tie it around his eyes. The bruises and cuts on his knuckles stung as they met fresh air but Luke didn’t pay the pain a second thought. The bandage was rather disgusting as he tied it around his head to block his sight but it did the trick so Luke tried to push his disgust to the corner of his mind.

“Luke!” Mr Gy’s cry felt like a million lightyears away as Luke centred himself, allowing the Light Side of the Force to flow over him like it had before. The seeds of the Dark Side burned in his mind but Luke thought only of Leia and how she needed him right now.

It was pure instinct alone that drove Luke as he pushed himself out of his hiding place behind the half-wall, igniting his father’s lightsaber and swinging it around in fast movements. He felt, like vibrations through the Force tingling at his skin, as the Stormtroopers turned their weapons on him. Their cries of “Jedi!”, “Traitor” and “Fire at him!” all blended into one in Luke’s mind and he used his instincts to block every blaster bolt sent his way.

It was like being in a dark room, unable to see anything, but then a flash of light would appear before you. And another. And another. And another. Luke’s muscles moved for him, his body knowing which way to twist and turn and the lightsaber in his hand swung around with ease like it had a mind of its own.

Leia dodged out of her hiding place, shooting stun bolts at the distracted Stormtroopers, watching as one by one they all fell to the ground. When the last one fell down, unconscious, Luke ripped off the manky bandage from around his eyes, throwing it to the floor.

“You stole from Obi-Wan?!” Luke rounded on his sister the second she walked beside him. By now, Mr Gy had run off, leaving the twins with an unobstructed way to exit. “I wanted to take Dad’s lightsaber! It’s not fair you took it!”

Leia rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. “Are we really arguing about this right now?”

“You took it without permission!” His sister just repeated what he said in a mocking voice, pulling a stupid face at Luke’s whiny tone. Luke was about to argue back, feeling suddenly enraged ( ** _“Yess, good! Good! Come back to me. Feel the anger once more!”_** ) when Artoo let out a shriek.

Leia sighed, letting her arms drop. “Artoo’s right; backup will arrive soon and we need to get out of here before it does. No doubt word of a Jedi will have a large garrison sent after us.”

The anger slipped from Luke’s mind, the Emperor’s words becoming mere whispers and he shivered at the cold feeling. Where the Light Side had left him feeling warm, whenever the darkness threatened to hold, Luke felt empty. He didn’t like that feeling.

One of the Stormtroopers stirred as the twins moved past their bodies but Artoo sent out a wave of electricity from his pincer, making the trooper fall back down. Leia simply smirked, patting the astromech droid’s dome.

“So who is this droid?” Luke asked as they ran, not failing to notice how Artoo managed to keep up with them. Several people on the air-paths yelled at them as they passed by with little consideration.

“R2-D2,” Leia shot back, her cheeks turning pink as they sprinted to where she’d landed the ship. It wasn’t far to the Mall and once Luke knew where they were heading, he took over the directions to include all the short-cuts he’d learnt over the years. “Luke this is Artoo, Artoo this is Luke!” The introduction was short but the astromech droid whistled in happy greeting.

“You never told me you had a droid!” The Mall was in sight now and Luke felt hope blossom in his chest as they reached the landing pad. _They were almost there!_

A fizzle in Luke’s Force senses had him jumping sideways, grabbing Leia’s arm as he went so they were both thrown to the ground. A blaster bolt whizzed past them and Luke knew their time was up. It seemed backup had arrived and they’d managed to follow them.

Luke wasted no time in igniting the lightsaber, ignoring the screams of everyone else on the landing pad as he deflected the shots being sent at him and Leia. With no covering over his eyes, Luke tried to not let his sight deceive his senses. It was difficult to fight with no physical training but with Leia shooting stun blasts at his side, they made a formidable team.

“Artoo! Get to the ship and prepare for take-off!” Leia yelled at the astromech droid and Artoo wasted no time to do what she asked.

They took refuge behind a nearby speeder, ducking behind it as the troopers advanced, all firing with little care as they tried to take out what they believed to be a Rebel threat. The twins cringed as the blaster bolts chipped at the poor stranger’s speeder, bits of metal and glass raining down on them.

“Any amazing ideas?” Leia yelled at her brother, rising up every now and then to stun another trooper. People were screaming around them, running from the landing pad in order to avoid being drawn into the fire.

Luke paused. “I got one! Get ready to run!” He counted to three before pushing himself up, pressing both palms forward and using the Force to push a wave of air at the troopers. They all stumbled and fell, their fire ceasing for a second.

At the distraction, the twins ran past the thousands of speeders and ships dotting the landing pad to where one was already in the midst of a take-off, rising into the air. Leia twisted around to send off a few stun blasts before jumping onto the lowered ramp that was now raised a few feet in the air. Luke paused, using his father’s lightsaber to fight away the remaining troopers blaster bolts.

“Luke!” Leia yelled from the top of the ship’s ramp. “Stop playing the hero and get in here! We need to leave!”

Luke gathered the Force around him, using it to propel up his jump and he landed neatly on the ship’s ramp before racing inside. The sounds of blaster bolts hit the ship’s exterior but they were already flying away, the door to the ship closing after the ramp retracted.

“That was easy,” Luke teased, smirking at his sister’s glare. Leia just huffed, pushing past a golden protocol droid as she made her way to the cockpit.

“They were firing at us! We’re going to die!” The protocol droid moved his arms up and down in a bewildered way. “I knew Artoo would get Mistress Leia in trouble!”

“Luke!” Leia screamed her brother’s name from the cockpit. “Luke!”

“You must be Master Luke; I am C-3PO, Human Cyborg relations. It is a pleasure to meet you—“ Luke raced past the protocol droid to where his sister had called from, ignoring the droid’s annoyed voice. “Oh how rude!”

Rushing into the cockpit, Luke saw Leia sitting in the pilots seat, her hands wrapped around the controls as she made a sudden daring move. The entire ship lurched right, making Luke stumble into the wall and Threepio to cry out in protest in the other room. Artoo had detached himself from the ship and was beeping words Luke couldn’t understand beside Leia’s seat.

“We have Imps on our trail,” Leia swerved left and Luke felt a blast hit their ship, the entire craft juddering as it did so.

“Move!” Luke snapped, clenching his fingers into the back of the pilot’s seat so he didn’t fall over when Leia swerved.

“I’m handling it!” Leia yelled back.

“Which one of us has a license, huh?”

“I think we’re past the point of following the law Luke! No one is going to pull us over and ask to see my license!”

“I know Imperial City better than you do; let me fly Leia!”

Even Leia couldn’t argue with Luke’s point on that so with great annoyance and a lot of stubborn relenting, she moved from the pilot’s seat and Luke slipped in after her. Strapping herself into the co-pilot’s seat, Leia felt suddenly helpless. With no in-built weapons on the ship (Alderaan was a pacifist planet after all), all she could do was trust in her brother’s piloting skills.

“Hold on tight,” Luke ground his teeth together as he twisted the craft suddenly to the left, narrowly avoiding a collision with a skyscraper as he did so. The Imperials on their trail were firing blast after blast at them but Luke dodged each one, pulling life-threatening manoeuvres as he did so.

He was suddenly grateful to his father for allowing him to learn to fly; however, Luke’s expertise in combat flying was non-existent and he realised that flying like this was vastly different to simply flying to school in the traffic lanes.

“Watch out!” Leia screamed her brother weaved through incoming speeders, pulling up higher and higher to get out of air-lanes. His knuckles were turning white as he gripped the controls harder, the bruises on his injured hand turning a sickly colour and the cuts threatened to re-open. Luke pitched the vessel upwards, sending Artoo flying into the wall behind them as the ship turned vertical. The droid let out a few angry whistles.

The ship ran along the length of a tall building, moving parallel to it as Luke continued to go faster and faster. The Imps ships’ were on their tail but the second the building ended, Luke pressed the controls forward and they shot off horizontally again, managing to lose a few of the slower Imps as they went.

Now outside of Imperial City, there were less speeders and more buildings. Luke dodged every blast, barely scraping past obstacles as he flew. Threepio was moaning from the back, yelling over and over again about how they were going to die.

“They’re gaining on us!” Luke yelled the obvious, feeling panic grip his chest. They needed to get out of Coruscant’s atmosphere but the only way they could do that was once they’d lost the TIE fighters closing in on them.

“There!” Leia pulled against the seat restraints, pointing at something below them. “Power-couplets! Go through them!”

 _Danger! Danger!_ Luke ducked the ship low to avoid a torpedo missile that missed them by mere centimetres. If the ship got damaged then the hyperdrive could be affected and they needed that in order to make a quick escape. The panic hit Luke once more.

“We aren’t going fast enough! You need to be at a certain speed and the way we’re going: it’ll fry us!”

Leia set her brother will a determined look. “Then go faster!”

Luke didn’t need to be told twice, pressing the controls as far as they would go. “Artoo, put all energy into the ship’s engines. We need speed.”

The astromech droid beeped and did just that; even Leia felt the jolt as they were pitched forward faster. Luke bit down on his tongue as he pushed the controls even more, willing it to go faster and faster. If he timed it right then they’d go through the power-couplets at just the right speed but the Imps would either be too slow or forced to pitch upwards and they’d lose them.

“Come on, come on, come one!” Luke mumbled to himself, feeling a sweat break out on his forehead. _Just a little bit faster!_

“Goodbye cruel world!” Threepio yelled from the back, with all the dramatics in the Galaxy, as they passed through the power-couplets. The entire ship shuddered and for the briefest of seconds, the controls glitched but they whizzed through the power-couplets without fault. Luke let out a breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding as he watched the Imps ships behind them explode, having not gotten to the correct speed in order to pass through safely.

The sounds of Leia’s cheering and Artoo’s ecstatic beeps faded away as Luke felt a fog cover over his eyes. The Emperor’s presence in his mind was crushing and he could feel the darkness inside him stir.

**_“Come back. Become my apprentice; you know there is no escaping your destiny. It is time for you to take your rightful place at my side. Think of the power!”_ **

“—uke? Luke!” Leia was suddenly in front of him, her worried gaze helping to break through some of the fog.

**_“She is a threat to you! She is a threat to all! Kill her and the power you amass will be unstoppable! Thousands will be at your mercy, all in awe of your power!”_ **

Luke distantly became aware of the fact that he was no longer in the pilot’s chair. He was on the floor of the cockpit, the metal underneath him cold and hard. Luke wasn’t sure how he came to be there and he felt like he couldn’t truly think; the Emperor was weighing on his mind, pressing down harder and harder until all Luke could feel was his cold and terrifying presence that gave power to the darkness in Luke’s chest.

It felt like he was having an out-of-body experience as he watched Artoo plug himself into the ship. A shudder ran up Luke’s spine and he wasn’t sure if it was because of the Emperor calling to him in his mind or the fact that they were now out of Coruscant’s atmosphere and in the freezing vacuum of space. Leia was kneeling on the floor before him, a look of terror in her eyes and her hands were shaking like they were afraid to touch him.

**_“Come back and you can finish what your father started. You can be everything he wanted and failed to be.”_ **

Luke squeezed his eyes shut; his father was a Jedi. That was what Luke wanted to be: not a Sith. He didn’t want to be an agent of evil. That wasn’t his destiny.

“Luke, you’re okay; you’re safe,” Leia’s voice wobbled and Luke had never heard her sound so scared before. His sister was usually a rock; she was the strongest person Luke knew but right now, she sounded terrified and it was because of him. Leia kept repeating the words like a mantra she was trying to convince herself of.

**_“Unleash your potential! Let the Dark Side become you—“_ **

_No,_ Luke sent back calmly.

The ship juddered as Artoo activated the hyperdrive, the stars turning into a blue and white blur all around them. The second they entered hyperspace, their ship being pulled lightyears away from Coruscant to the safety of space, Luke felt the Emperor’s grip on his mind slip away.

It was like finally being able to breathe after three weeks of suffocating. The darkness in his mind receded, the planter finally gone and the manipulation severed by lightyears off distance.

“Luke?” Leia’s voice was quiet and cautious and when Luke looked into her familiar brown eyes, eyes he’d always associated with _home_ since his childhood, he felt a wave of affection. Leia was here and she’d saved him from the Emperor. She’d stopped his descent to the Dark Side.

Luke bounded forward and wrapped his arms around his sister, holding her close as he sent waves of gratitude through the Force to her. He needed her to know how much he appreciated her. How much he loved her.

 _‘I know,’_ Leia sent back through their bond, her arms tightening around her brother’s torso. They weren’t safe but they were together— and Leia guessed that would be enough.

It had to be.


	9. The Next Step

“We need to be smart,” Leia sighed, resting her head on her hands as they discussed their next course of action. They were currently still in hyperspace, heading towards a random moon Leia had imputed into the navi-computer before Luke had fallen to the floor of the cockpit. “We need to be cautious now; the entire Empire will be on the lookout for us.”

“What do you suppose?” Luke frowned. They were sitting at the small table in the communal area, both feeling exhausted yet knowing they had no time to rest. Now lightyears away from the Emperor, Luke felt like himself again; it was like a filter had been lifted from his mind and all the crushing anger and darkness was suddenly gone. It was clear to Luke now that the Emperor had been manipulating his thoughts, accentuating his emotions so he lashed out and succumbed to the Dark Side sooner.

But with the distance between them, that manipulation had been severed.

Leia paused, not looking happy with what she was about to say. “We need to sell the ship.”

“We _what_?” Luke scoffed. “Why?”

“Think about it, Luke: the Imps know what ship we escaped on. Soon, the entire Imperial navy will be trying to track us down and this ship will lead them right to us. All it will take is one anonymous tip from someone and the Empire will be on our trail. We need to remain undetected and unsuspicious.”

“I thought we were heading to the Rebellion?” Luke frowned, still not seeing the problem. “I seriously doubt any of them would report us or our ship to the Empire.”

“Our course is navigated to the moon that orbits Alderaan,” Leia sighed. “I panicked and I navigated us there. When we get out of hyperspace, we’ll be in Imperial territory. Anyone could spot us and report us. If we go straight to the Rebellion in this ship then we risk the entire Rebel Alliance being found and an Imperial invasion. We can’t do that.”

Luke seemed to understand, nodding his head in defeat. As usual, his sister was the clear thinker out of the two of them. “Fine, we need to sell the ship. And I know just the place.”

Leia groaned. “Why do I feel like I’m going to hate the place you’re going to suggest?”

“Because you know exactly what I’m going to say and that I’m right: Tatooine.”

“I guess it is in the Outer Rim,” Leia conceded. “And it’s controlled by the Hutts so the Empire has no jurisdiction. A planet of criminals and outlaws will be the perfect place to sell a ship that will only arouse Imperial suspicion.” She didn't like it but Leia had to admit it was the clear choice. And with Luke's, albeit short, time there, it meant they had more footing there than any other backwater planet they knew nothing of.

Luke's expression was dark when he replied. He rubbed at his forehead, cringing at the memories he had of the barren planet he'd lived on for only six months. “I know I suggested it but I’m no happier than you at going back there. I lived there for six months and trust me, six months was enough to hate that place.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t too bad,” Leia smirked at her brother’s disgusted tone.

“You haven’t been there Leia; you have no say.” Luke shook his head. “There’s nothing but sand and sand and sand for miles! And the heat— Force, it’s so _hot_!”

“It is a desert planet.”

Luke ignored her dry response. “You honestly have no idea how mad I was at Obi-Wan that you got sent off to be a Princess on a Core World and I was sent to that hell-hole to be a farmer. I honestly don’t know how I would’ve survived if I’d stayed there all these years. The boredom would’ve killed me. There was _literally_ nothing to do.”

“How did Vader find you?” Leia frowned, realising she’d never been told this by Luke before. Her curiously peaked and Leia suddenly wondered in depth about how the hell Vader found her brother in the six months after they’d been separated. After a decade of hiding, it seemed strange that Vader found Luke so quickly— especially on a backwater planet so far out of the Empire’s main control.

Luke cringed, running a hand through his hair with sudden awkwardness. “Uh, well, it was my fault. I was bored and Uncle Owen was nagging about chores and I wanted to go exploring and see if I could find something fun to do. I got lost, obviously, and I became dehydrated. I started to call out with the Force for help— I was hoping Obi-Wan or yourself would hear but . . .”

“Vader heard instead,” Leia frowned. “So what . . . he came to Tatooine?”

“Yeah,” Luke nodded. “Uncle Owen found me not long after I’d collapsed and Aunt Beru spent days nursing me back to health. It was just when I was regaining my strength that father arrived and he realised the truth about my Force call: that I was his son. He spared Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen but they were forced to cut all contact to me and father took me with him, back to Coruscant.”

Despite her anger at Vader and the fear she’d been holding onto ever since she’d seen Luke years ago on Empire Day, Leia found herself speaking with honesty. “I’m glad he found you.”

Luke shrugged, sniffling as he was hit with sudden emotion. “He was a good father, all things considered. He wasn’t the best and I’ve learnt a lot about what-not-to-do because of him but I know he cared about me. Even if he would never admit it.”

Artoo suddenly made a noise, rolling forward plug into the computer nearby so his words would be shown on the screen. Leia had shut Threepio down after they’d entered hyperspace and the protocol droid had refused to shut up about how they were going to die. Artoo, however, had been oddly silent since the twins had started talking.

Artoo beeped and whistled, his words appearing on the screen. _Anakin loved you a lot, I know it. He told me he was excited to be a father._

Luke’s eyes widened and Leia realised that in all their hurry to escape, she’d not mentioned the fact that their new droids had been friends of their biological parents. “You knew my father?” Luke half-yelled, turning his shocked gaze to Leia. “Did you know this?”

Leia sighed, nodding slowly. “Yeah, Artoo and Threepio belonged to our mother.” She chuckled awkwardly. “Did I not mention that?"

Artoo whistled in agreement. _At the start of the war, your mother gifted me to your father to fight alongside him. We became good friends._

“Artoo has some very good stories,” Leia smirked at the droid.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” Luke’s mouth was open and there was a whiney tinge to his voice.

Leia rolled her eyes, speaking in a sarcastic tone. “Oh I apologise that I didn’t take the time to explain the history of our new droids when we were _literally_ being shot at!”

“We’ve been in hyperspace for nearly an hour!”

“I forgot!”

Artoo whistled, words coming on the screen once more. _I’ve been excited to meet you Luke, I was worried when Leia said you were in trouble. You’re okay now though, right?_

Luke stared down at his injured hand, nothing how deeply purple the bruises on his knuckles were and how there was tried blood caking his skin. “Yeah,” he replied distantly, trying not to think about how close he’d been to not being okay.

Leia gasped when she caught sight of his hand, reaching across the table to observe it, her eyes widening with both disgust and horror. “Luke! What happened! This looks broken!"

“It’s not broken,” Luke rolled his eyes, pulling his hand away from her prying eyes.

“Did the _Emperor_ do that?”

“No,” Luke sighed. “I did. I was angry and I punched a wall.”

“You punched a wall so hard that it bruised your knuckles like that?! Were you _trying_ to break it?”

“It’s not broken! And I think you underestimate the Dark Side, Leia,” Luke frowned. It seemed like a decade ago that he punched his wall so hard his knuckles bled but in reality it was just this morning. He’d been so helpless and scared mere hours ago but now he felt so free. “It sucks on your soul until all that’s left is anger. And hatred. And fear. I’ve been so scared these past three weeks.”

His sister’s face crumbled and her voice shook with suppressed emotions. “You have?”

“The Emperor was planting seeds of the Dark Side in my brain, forcing me to train with him and to use my anger as a way to access the Force. He amplified my emotions so every reaction I had was doubled and it became so difficult to control. I would see red when I got angry and lash out at people when frustrated. And when my rational brain pushed away the darkness that was threatening to consume me, I would feel so cold. I've been plagued with nightmares of future victims and each time I attempted to eat, I felt so sick.”

“You do look terrible,” Leia admitted. “I didn’t want to say it before but you do. You looked so rattled back at your school: it was like you were in the room but your mind wasn’t. Kinda like you were possessed.”

“That was Palpatine’s handiwork,” Luke glared at his knuckles, poking the dark purplish bruises with his other hand. Honestly, once he washed the dried blood off he doubted it would look as horrifying as it did now.

“Don’t think I’m not mad at you though,” Leia’s voice returned to her usually sassy self, crossing her arms over her chest and giving Luke a stubborn look. “Three weeks ago you _promised_ me you wouldn’t turn to the Dark Side but now look where we are!"

“I didn’t have a choice!”

“You always have a choice, Luke!”

“Not this time,” Luke sighed. “I was naive to think I could so easily escape once the Emperor set his sights on me. There was no one I could turn to and nowhere to go. I thought if I tried to runaway the Emperor would just find me in hours and if I’m being honest, I didn’t have the strength to go. I was terrified to stay but terrified to leave.”

Leia cleared her throat, “Well, it doesn’t matter now. We’re far away from the Emperor and I don’t really want to dwell on that sleemo for any longer than necessary.”

Luke nodded, letting the silence wrap around them for a few seconds before he gained the courage to speak once more. It had been clear from the second that Leia had entered his school obviously fresh from an attack that something serious had happened hours prior and now that they were alone, Luke felt he should ask. No doubt his sister would shut down his efforts but Luke knew she would need to let it off her chest.

“What happened on Alderaan?” His voice was quiet and he hoped he sounded more comforting than nosey. Artoo beeped sadly, disconnecting from the computer to roll beside Leia.

Leia bristled, her back going straight and her shoulders tensing up. She placed her hand on Artoo’s dome. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“But you should,” Luke pressed gently. “You know I won’t judge, Leia.”

His sister turned her head to the side, glaring in the direction of the cockpit and for a second, Luke thought she was going to leave without an explanation. “I was attacked,” Leia said finally and Luke had to physically hold in the urge to roll his eyes.

“I know but what happened?”

Leia swallowed heavily and Luke could feel how tightly she was trying to hold onto her emotions. But a slither of pain floated through their bond and he felt her guilt almost like it were his own. “I wasn’t meant to go outside without protection,” her voice was clipped. “But I did. And an Inquisitor attacked me because the Emperor sent her to kill me.”

Leia pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose, pausing for a second. “I don’t know how he found out about me: maybe there was a fault on legal documents or he made an educated guess— I, I don’t know. But he sent someone to kill me and Bail— he, uh, he didn’t go to the safety room like he was told to. He took me to the hangar and he said we needed to get off-world because Alderaan was no longer safe for me and, uh—“

Luke knew what she was about to say. “He didn’t make it.”

Leia shook her head, her lips wobbling as she looked down at her lap. “No, he didn’t.”

Artoo let out a sad beep and Luke knew if that droid had arms, they’d be wrapped around Leia right now. “That wasn’t your fault.”

Like a spark being ignited, Leia’s eyes flashed up to her brother’s with intensity. Anger blossomed in her chest: she was angry at Luke for not seeing the truth, she was angry at Bail for dying and she was angry at herself for being the reason for his death. “Yes, it was!”

“Bail knew what he was doing when he adopted you 6 years ago. He knew the risks and he knew what that entailed but he did it anyway.”

“He didn’t deserve to die because of me!”

Luke shook his head, agreeing with his sister. “No, he didn’t. But he didn’t die _because_ of you Leia, he died _for_ you. There’s a difference. Bail knew you were special and he wanted to protect you, regardless of the risks.”

 _I am very proud of you_.

“Bail’s always had a soft spot for you,” Luke continued. “We’ve always known that; he wanted to adopt you when we were babies but Obi-Wan took us both before that happened. He loved you like a daughter, I know it”

Leia closed her eyes, trying to stop any threatening tears from falling as her adoptive father’s words echoed in her head. ( _I am very proud of_ you). She still felt responsible for his death but she knew some of Luke’s words had truth behind them. Bail had known what he was doing when he took her in and Leia knew, deep in her heart, that Bail would’ve made the same decisions again had he been given the chance to pull a do-over.

Leia sniffed, pushing back from her seat. From the expression on her face, Luke knew this talk was over. “We should change the ship’s navigation. I’ll set the course to Tatooine.”

Luke nodded, watching her go with a sad look. His sister liked to bottle in her feelings until it became too much and she exploded. But Luke knew when that moment came, he’d be there to pick up the pieces.

“So you knew my father?” Luke turned to Artoo once Leia had gone, giving the droid a small smile. Artoo beeped, rolling towards the computer to plug in.

_Yes, very well. You look like him but you have Padme’s smile._

Luke felt suddenly taken aback; in all his life, he’d only met two people who’d known his mother (and father) so intimately. Obi-Wan had always had a nice thing to say about Padme, relaying her achievements and her kindness to her children so they grew up knowing how amazing their mother had been. And Vader, whilst he’d refused to discuss his late wife, had loved her insanely, even a decade after her death.

Luke had always known how much he took after his mother in personality: their shared compassion for all living and breathing things, their forgiving nature and ability to see the best in those when others didn’t see it— the list could go on.

But something about Artoo’s words hit Luke right in the gut. This droid had been close to his mother; he’d seen her everyday for years and he could see the similarities in her son by just one glance.

“I do?” He hated how his voice faltered.

_Yes. Was he good to you?_

“Who? My father?”

Artoo whistled. _Anakin was so excited to be a father; we were fighting in the Outer Rim sieges for months and I know he missed your mother everyday. It wasn’t until the then-Chancellor was kidnapped that we finally got to return home. And when we did, Anakin found out that your mother was pregnant and he was so happy._

Luke felt a lump rise in his throat. He’d been living with his father for over 5 years now and he’d never heard this story before. Whenever Vader did let something slip about Luke’s mother, he never put so much emotion into it. He’d never even told Luke that he’d been excited to be a father.

Artoo beeped some more. _So did he treat you well? I hope he did; Anakin wouldn’t have wanted his son to feel unloved._

Luke sniffed. “He tried— I think simply by trying it made him a good father. I wasn’t unloved; he never showed much affection, I’ll admit, but I wasn’t unloved. There was this one time a few years ago where I got a really bad flu and I was bedridden for days. I could barely move and every time I slept I had some sort of fever dream. But my father stayed with me the entire time— normally he’s too busy with the Empire and he’d get a Lieutenant to watch over me when I’m sick. But that time he stayed with me and he put a cool compress on my forehead and he helped feed me when I was too weak . . .”

Luke trailed off, basking in the memory. There had been many, many bad times that occurred when living with a Sith Lord but Vader had never hurt Luke. He may have been emotionally cold and his words cutting at times but he’d never intentionally hurt his son. After growing up hearing stories about Anakin, Luke knew that in the good times they shared it had been his real father peaking through the Sith persona.

He cleared his throat, holding the good memories close to his chest. “He loved me, I’m sure of it.”

Artoo’s whistle was sad. _It is said that_ _Sith can’t love . . . but then, Anakin was never a normal Jedi so I doubt he was a normal Sith either._

“I should call him,” Luke stared at his bruised hand. He didn’t want to call his father but he owed it to the man to offer some sort of explanation. His father had lost his son and at this current moment, he didn’t even know. When he finally returned from his mission, Luke could only cringe to think about how Vader would find out his son had betrayed the Empire.

Sixteen years ago his father had helped destroy the Republic so Palpatine’s Empire could rise in its place. He’d turned on all his friends to do so and Luke knew neither his mother nor Obi-Wan had supported Vader in what he’d done. Obi-Wan had once recalled how Luke and Leia’s father had felt betrayed by the fact the former Jedi Master had been against his Empire. They’d fought and Vader had lost.

And now, Luke was turning his back on the Empire and the Sith ways. He was refusing to follow his father and the Emperor down the dark path they chose to walk.

Luke knew that by doing what he’d done, he’d helped push his father into further darkness.

“I should call and try to explain,” Luke frowned. “I’m scared that running away will only bind his soul to the Dark Side more.”

 _It is not your job to save your father’s soul_ , Artoo whistled sadly.

“But he’s my father—“

_Anakin made his choice and he made it wrong. That isn’t your problem to fix. The Anakin I knew isn’t what he is today._

“He’s in there,” Luke whispered. “I’ve seen glimpses of him. I know my real father is still alive.” Artoo didn’t reply and honestly, Luke didn’t expect him to. Artoo had been there when his father fell and when he'd pledged himself to darkness but Artoo had not been there when the dust settled.

Luke was walking to the in-built holocom, wondering what the kriff he was supposed to say to his father to explain why he’d left to the Rebellion. He didn’t know whether to admit that Leia was his sister or not and he didn’t want to say something that would enrage the man further. Luke was just punching in the frequency for his father’s comlink when Artoo beeped once again and the words appeared on the screen.

_If Anakin really is in there, he would want you to be safe. And if being safe means being away from him and the Emperor, I think he would prefer that._

“Do you think I should tell him about Leia?” Luke sighed, waiting for the transmission to connect. Artoo beeped out a reply just as the connection made, the familiar ‘out of range’ signal that Luke was so used to, coming up on the screen. It counted down the seconds until Luke’s message recorded. He could do this. He could do this!

_Anakin has always been possessive . . . I think for Leia’s best interests, he not find out about her just yet._

Luke nodded, knowing that if his father discovered Leia’s existence, he’d burn down half the Galaxy in either rage or from simply trying to find them.

The recording started and Luke cleared his throat, willing himself to be strong. “Hi Father.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I would be inactive until the 14th but plans changed so here ya go! Also I know this chapter was more of a filler but the next one is a lot longer and I'll post it either Fri or Sat :)


	10. Bad News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long to update :/ enjoy :)

Lord Vader returned to his ship with a proud sense of achievement brewing in his chest. After three long weeks of battling an uprising in the Mid Rim world of Jiroch, the insurgents had finally been brought to justice. All threats to the Empire had been vanquished and Vader felt like peace had been restored once again. The death toll had been in the hundreds but such things were expected of a petty war and Vader knew no sleep would be lost over the dead— it never was.

As Vader stared out at the vastness of space, his eyes taking in his Star Destroyer as it awaited his arrival, he was hit with the pleasant realisation that this meant he would be returning to Coruscant. After three exhausting weeks he would finally see his son again. The thought was almost enough to stir something in his chest.

Leaving for lengthly periods of time used to be something he enjoyed; being able to personally see to those who wished to threaten the security the Empire provided and end their threats with his own hands. But ever since Luke had entered his life about 5 and a half years ago, leaving Coruscant for such long durations were regrettable.

Luke never complained— at least not to him— but he knew his son wasn’t a fan of his constant coming and going from Coruscant without little warning. It reminded Vader too much of a past life, where Anakin had been forced to leave Padme for lengthy periods of time without any knowledge of how long he’d be gone for. But Vader shoved that thought away as quickly as it came.

It was of no consequence, he would arrive back on Coruscant within a day or two and he would see his son again.

No doubt Luke would be so excited at his return that he’d forgo his resentful moods about his father’s absence. Vader even thought about calling one of his assistants to cancel any and all meetings he could have on the day he returned so his attention could focus solely on his son. Maybe they could continue fixing that ship they’d been working on before Vader’s lengthy departure? Or maybe a quick flight around the planet?

“Sir, we are ready to dock on the _Executioner_. We expect to arrive on Coruscant in one standard day.” The Lieutenant on his vessel was nervous but his posture remained perfect as he addressed the Sith Lord.

Lord Vader nodded in return, leaving the ship the second they landed on the _Executioner_. He knew he should head straight to the bridge and oversee certain things with the Admirals waiting for him but he found himself moving to his personal chambers instead.

Vader was not unaware that three weeks was an exceptionally long time to be away from his son with no contact; given that Jiroch had been so unstable and the communication lines had been down, it had been unfortunate that he’d been out of range for so long. Vader trusted his assistants to keep Luke in-check whilst he was gone but he couldn’t fight the nagging worry in his mind that something out of their control had occurred. What if Luke had gotten sick? What if he’d broken a bone? Or crashed his speeder?

Once in the security of his private chambers, Vader wasted no time in heading to the terminal to open any and all calls he’d received in the past few weeks. There were several from the Emperor and a few Grand Moffs which Vader skipped (his Master would not be pleased with that).

There were many missed calls from Luke— something which Vader couldn’t help but feel a spark of worry over— but only one recorded message. He noticed how it was dated from about 2 days ago, wasting no time in playing the awaiting message.

“Hi Father,” his son’s familiar face appeared on the screen and Vader instantly felt his worry increase. Luke had not looked like that when he’d left. His son’s hair was slightly longer than his usual style and there were dark circles under his eyes like horrible bruises. Luke’s cheeks were thinner and there was a gaunt skinniness about his face like he hadn’t been eating well.

“I don’t really know what to say,” the holographic version of Luke frowned and Vader heard a few beeping sounds come from off-screen. Luke raised his hand to rub at his face and had Vader been there in person, he would’ve reached out and properly assessed the damage. There was dried blood on his son’s fist and his knuckles were bruised beyond relief.

_What in the name of the Force had happened in the three weeks he’d been away?_

“I don’t know if you’re seeing my recorded message first or after you’ve heard the news but I’m going to act like you don’t know. I—uh, Force this is hard.”

The holographic Luke paused, closing his eyes for a second like he was trying not to cry. Vader was immediately overcome with worry. Heard the news?

“What have you done Luke?” Vader growled to himself, trying to ignore the stabbing ache in his chest at watching his son attempt to pull himself together. Had Luke truly crashed his speeder? Or worse, taken one of Vader’s expensive custom-made speeders out for a flight and crashed them? Or maybe he’d had a fight at school?

“I’m just going to say things how they are, Father. I left Coruscant; I’m in hyperspace but I can’t tell you where I’m going. I don’t know when you’ll watch this message nor how long it would’ve been since I left but for me, right now, I left Coruscant within the hour of making this message to you.”

Out of all the things Vader had expected his son to say, that had not been it. _Left Coruscant_? For a minute, Vader couldn’t even comprehend the words nor their meaning. Luke had left Coruscant— where the kriff was he leaving to? Why? Who with?

“I want you to know that none of this was planned; I woke up this morning with all the intentions of going to school and coming home like usual. I know that you’ll probably hear a lot of things about what happened and maybe even see the school’s security footage but I want you to know I left because I had to."

None of this was making sense. Luke was not talking sense! Where in all Corellian Hells was his son? Vader felt a rise of anger that all of this had occurred days before he’d returned— he should’ve been there to stop Luke from making any stupid decisions. No doubt the boy left as some sort of teenage rebellion or attention-grab.

“I know you’re going to be angry,” Luke sighed and Vader knew if they were talking in person he would’ve replied with: _I wonder why, Luke._ But they weren’t in person and Vader could do nothing but watch his son’s holographic form. “And I don’t want you to blame yourself. I hope you don’t hate me! Or disown me! I’m proud to be your son, I really am. But . . . I don’t agree with the Empire and I can’t be complicit in its evil anymore.”

Vader didn’t like where this was going. He’d known since the very first conversation he’d had with Luke that his son took greatly after his mother. For years Vader had feared Luke would turn his back on him just like Padme had. Had that day finally come?

Luke’s next words hit Vader so hard that he felt like he’d been punched in the chest. His hands curled into fists and the Dark Side swelled around him, ready to listen to his every command.

“The reason I left Coruscant is because I’ve joined the Rebellion.”

Vader should’ve known the Amidala genes in his son would take control eventually.

So his son was now a traitor. He’d betrayed him. He’d left him. Vader wanted to reach out and grab Luke and shake some sense into his son. Didn’t Luke realise the gravity of what he’d done? The Emperor wouldn’t allow for Luke to live now! All of Vader’s dreams of using his son to overpower Palpatine and rising in his place were dashed.

And to top it all off, his sixteen year old son, who had a long way to reach full maturity, was out in the Galaxy alone. What if he got hurt? Or someone abused his naivety?

“I’m not alone though,” Luke carried on, an awkward look pulling at his features. “You’ll probably hear from the reports that I, uh, I left Coruscant with someone. She came to my school and she talked sense into me— I wasn’t manipulated, I swear. Princess Leia is a good friend and she saved my life.”

Vader wondered if his hearing implants had malfunctioned. Princess Leia? Organa’s unruly daughter? He’d never personally met the troublesome Princess but from stories Tarkin had told, Vader knew she was a fierce young woman, extremely strong-willed and followed in her father’s footsteps of corrupted politics.

 _Why was Princess Leia Organa with his son?_ He’d not even been aware that the two had even met, let alone become good friends! And what did Luke mean that she’d saved his life? When had this occurred?

“The truth is, for the past three weeks, the Emperor has been training me. He’s been making me use my anger and feel the Dark Side of the Force. He wanted me to become his next apprentice.” A tear ran down Luke’s cheek but Vader felt too numb to even feel bad for his son. “But I don’t want that— and I think if you were honest with yourself, you don’t either. I ran away because it was the only way to be free from the Emperor.”

It didn’t take Vader by surprise that his Master had been training his son behind his back. Of course Palpatine would try to use Luke to usurp his father! Had Vader been expecting anything less? Perhaps he’d believed the Emperor would wait a little longer but he’d known it would occur eventually.

 _If you were honest with yourself, you don’t either._ . .Vader thought about Luke’s words. Didn’t he want Luke to walk down the same path as him? He’d imagined Luke converting to the ways of the Sith numerous times and for them to overthrow Palpatine and rule the Galaxy as father and son— but did he really want that for his son? For Luke to feel the same anger and darkness that he did?

Vader convinced himself that yes, that was what he wanted. But no matter how much he tried to believe that, the thought of Luke, his naive and happy son, staring at him with sickly yellow eyes and a red lightsaber clenched in his hand, made Vader feel suddenly queasy.

There was so much of Padme in their young son, he saw it every time Luke forgave him for his murderous ways and believed the best in people, and to think of Padme’s goodness being corrupted by the Emperor was a sickening thought.

“I know this isn’t goodbye,” tears welled up in Luke’s eyes and Vader suddenly thought his son looked years younger than his actual age. Sixteen was far too young to be without his father— to leave his home planet and live a life on the run. “Or at least I hope so. I’ll miss you Dad. I love you.”

The message ended and Vader found his anger doubling, all his hopelessness responding to the Dark Side and brewing something hot and dark in his chest. As he clenched his fist, the metal chair on the other side of his room snapped and broke into little pieces. And then another. And another. And then the table became a pile of rubble too.

There was a buzz on his door comm and without much waiting, the Lieutenant from before walked in. “Mr Lord, Admiral Piett wishes to speak to you on the bridge—“ the man broke off when all air vanished from his lungs. Vader didn’t even bother to turn around as the Lieutenant grabbed his neck, his face turning a deep purple in the matter of seconds.

He focused all his frustrations on the man, enjoying the feel of the Dark Side respond to him but when the Lieutenant fell to the floor, Vader found none of his anger appeased. Luke was still gone. That man’s death didn’t bring his son back.

Another call suddenly filled up the holocom terminal and Vader realised it was the frequency of one of his assistants. The image of a Twi’leck female filled his red-tinted vision and despite her clear professionalism, Vader could see the worry in her eyes.

“Sir!” The Lieutenant nodded stoically. “I’m grateful that we can finally make contact with you— there’s been a situation—“

“Where’s Luke?” Vader’s voice was booming and it took him a second to calm down. Frightening this woman and threatening her would lead to nowhere. And the more Vader stared at her, the more he seemed to recognise her. He was vaguely familiar with the fact that she was rather close to his son.

The Lieutenant went right to buisness. She didn’t even question how he knew. “We don’t know sir; Stormtroopers who were at the scene state that Luke and Princess Organa made it off-world and entered Hyperspace a little under an hour after Princess Organa first made contact. A bounty has been set on her head and all Imperial citizens and those in authority are on the look-out for the Alderaanian cruiser they were last spotted on.”

So it really was true. Princess Leia Organa really was involved with all of this— Vader had no idea how to wrap his head around the fact that she was somehow involved in all of this. When had his son become friends with her? He’d never once seen them converse nor had Luke made any mental acknowledgement about the young Princess. It just wasn’t adding up— he knew something else was going on here and Vader hated to be left in the dark as to what.

“My son left me a vague message about the events, Lieutenant,” Vader forced himself to push the anger down. If only for a moment. He needed the truth. “Perhaps you can fill me in on the details?”

The Lieutenant nodded, looking rather uncomfortable as she did so. “Very well, sir. I believe Luke had a bad night of sleep on the day he left, I saw him that morning and he seemed . . . disorientated. According to the school’s records and Luke’s teacher, he arrived late but attended class like usual. There was an incident at lunch— something about an exploding glass bottle and Luke’s teacher made a comment about a trashcan exploding in the same manner. But none of those events were blamed on Luke.

Then after lunch, when Luke was in his fifth lesson of the day, Princess Organa broke into his classroom and eyewitnesses have stated she started spewing anti-Imperial sentiment. Luke’s teacher says that Luke seemed to know Organa but neither recalled from where or how. She was clearly trying to recruit him and it seems that it worked.

There’s security footage of Luke and Organa fighting off Stormtroopers and Luke is clearly identifiable. He was fighting with a—“

The Lieutenant paused and her nervousness was displayed on her face, breaking her professional display.

“Carry on Lieutenant.”

She took in a deep breath. “He was fighting with a lightsaber, sir. No troopers were injured, however.”

A lightsaber. Now that made Vader pause. Where had his son gotten a lightsaber from? From him? But Vader’s collection was locked up and out of his son’s prying eyes. So where? This next question was tricky.

“Lieutenant, what colour was this lightsaber?”

“Blue, sir.”

So his son had somehow come to be in possession of a Jedi’s weapon. Was Princess Organa to blame for this too? At the thought of the deceitful, war-mongering girl Vader felt his anger sky-rocket. How dare she lie to his son! How dare she take his son from him!

Luke was who knows where, believing the corrupt, misguided beliefs of a teenage girl who had just about as much sense as her treasonous father.

For a second, Vader imagined what he would do if he ever got his hands on Princess Leia. The thought of choking her brought great satisfaction but as Vader imagined her brown eyes widening in horror, he was hit with the memory of another brown eyed woman choking under his grasp.

_Anakin, you’re breaking my heart!_

Vader dug his robotic hands into the metal of the terminal so hard that it dented underneath his gloved fingers. He pushed that thought to the furthest part of his mind— it would do no good to dwell on that right now. He needed to focus on Luke— on their son.

Luke was being swayed by Rebel propaganda and lies but Vader knew once he found his son, once he talked some true sense into the boy, Luke would return to his side. They could train together to defeat Palpatine and finally live out Vader’s goal of ruling the Galaxy. They could be father and son in a Galaxy that they brought true peace to.

“Lieutenant,” Vader suddenly snapped. “I want that security tape sent to me when I arrive on Coruscant. This situation must be handled carefully: Princess Organa is a traitor to the State and clearly dangerous. But I do not want word released that my son is in her company, it will only endanger Luke and make it more difficult to return once he is found. I want the official statement to read that my son was kidnapped by Rebel insurgents but for Princess Organa not to be mentioned specifically. Do you understand?”

“Yes, My Lord.”

“I will be on Coruscant in one standard day. I expect the see that security tape when I return."

“Of course, My Lord.”

Vader nodded when the transmission ended and despite knowing he should oversee what is happening on the bridge, he felt glued to his spot. The Dark Side brewed in his chest, creating up a storm that if released, could kill every single man on his Star Destroyer. But Vader felt suddenly too weary to move.

It still felt unbelievable that when Vader returned to Coruscant, Luke wouldn’t be there to greet him. In the past few years, Vader had taken it for granted to see his young son standing on the hangar, waving at him with excitement whenever he returned.

He could still picture a 10 year old Luke, fresh from Tatooine’s suns, grinning from ear-to-ear as Vader returned from a mission. Then that Luke turned into a pre-teen, his childish chubbiness disappearing but the face-splitting smile remaining. Even as Luke’s hair had darkened just like his own had at that age and he grew a couple of inches (although the boy _definitely_ took after his mother, height wise), his son had never not been happy to see him return.

To think he wouldn’t see that smile when his ship touched down on the Imperial Palace’s hangar, it left Vader feeling cold. It was almost too hard to comprehend that when he returned, Luke simply wouldn’t be there. His room would be empty. He wouldn’t waltz in late after spending the afternoon at the Mall nor come barging into Vader’s quarters slurping on some high-calorie drink to talk about some Holo he’d just seen.

There would be no more working on speeders together and no more teasing about the girl Vader knew he liked. There would be no more quiet moments when the Empire and the Dark Side were left forgotten and they were simply father and son, enjoying each other’s company.

But Vader refused for that to be the end. He’d get Luke back— he’d find his son and he’d make him see the error of his ways. The Rebellion may have won for now, by stealing his son, but Vader vowed that he’d undo their evil.

Even if he had to burn down half the Galaxy to do so.

* * *

_Leia vaguely recognised the apartment she was standing in. She was also vaguely aware that this was the same dream she’d been having for the past two days whilst they’d been in Hyperspace. But those facts were blurry as she continued to dream._

_Her mother’s apartment was just as airy and open as Leia remembered it being when she’d visited it last year. The blue of the carpet was just as bright and the large windows made the room look spacious. A brown haired woman with kind eyes sat on one of the sofas, her protruding stomach sticking out despite the heavy gown she wore to attempt to hide the pregnancy underneath._

_“He’s kicking again,” Padme smiled at someone off to the side, her hand resting on her stomach. She looked so relaxed and at ease as she loving rubbed the belly where her child lay._

_“She,” a man corrected as he took a seat beside her. His hair was a dark blonde and he had the bluest eyes; one hand was covered by a glove as the other, his flesh hand, rubbed at Padme’s belly as well. “Our daughter will be offended that her mother keeps calling her a boy.”_

_Padme stuck out her tongue in a teasing gesture. “My motherly instincts tell me that we’re having a baby boy. You’re not implying my instincts are wrong, are you?”_

_Anakin chuckled lightly, leaning forward to kiss his wife’s temple. “I’m not implying anything— I’m_ telling _you that we’re having a girl.”_

_“Boy!”_

_“Girl.”_

_They carried on with their playful teasing for a few moments, both smirking at each other as they argued. Leia watched with a heavy heart— she knew she wasn’t really there but she could feel their love. There was so much excitement in their eyes at the prospect of bringing a child into the Galaxy._

_“Well,” Padme finally ended the fake fight. “Whatever the gender, I know he’ll be loved.”_

_“Yes, she will; just like her mother will be.”_

_They sat in silence for a few moments, both basking in the glow of the pregnancy when something dark flitted across Anakin’s face. Leia swallowed heavily, remembering that same look on her brother when she’d talked to him at his school. There was fear in Anakin’s eyes and after a moment Padme spotted it too._

_“What’s wrong?”_

_Like coming out of a trance, Anakin blinked. “Huh? Nothing— don’t worry about it.”_

_Padme placed a hand on her husband’s cheek, turning his face towards her. “I do worry about it, so please: tell me.”_

_“It’s just my nightmares. I won’t let you die Padme; I promise I’ll find a way to save you.”_

_“I’m not going to die, Ani,” Padme rubbed her thumb in comforting circles but it did nothing to appease the look in Anakin’s eyes. “Your dream won’t come true.”_

_“I’ll make sure it won’t.” There was something fierce in his voice and it struck Leia straight through the heart. She had no idea about what dreams he was referring to but she doubted they were anything good._

_“We should think of names,” Padme changed the subject, trying her best to make the atmosphere around them more light-hearted. “Our son will be coming soon and he’ll need a name we actually agree on.”_

_Anakin sighed. “Any boy name you choose I’m sure I’ll love.”_

_“And what if we have a girl?” Padme pushed, rolling her eyes when Anakin finally smirked at her, brought out of his glum mood. “Which we won’t. But do you have any preferences for a girl’s name?”_

_“There was one name that’s stuck with me during the years.”_

_“Really?” Padme’s eyes gleamed but there was something morose in the way Anakin talked. He looked to the side, almost like he was lost in thought. “What is it Ani? Tell me.”_

_“My mother had a sister before . . . well, you know. She used to tell me stories about what little she remembered of her family and she used to say that had I been born a girl, she would’ve named me after the sister she lost.”_

_“What was the name?”_

_“The name was L—“ an incessant beeping sound filled the air, cutting Anakin off. He sighed, reaching into his pocket to pull a comlink out. “I need to go. I’m so sorry.”_

_Padme nodded, whispering her understanding as he kissed her cheek before departing. Once alone, Leia watched as her mother rubbed her stomach in a slow movement. “Your Daddy thinks you’re a girl but I know you’re a boy, my sweet Luke.”_

_Then the scene changed before Leia’s eyes. The happiness and love that Leia had sensed before ebbed away as something dark circled around in the air. Lava flowed all around and she realised she was standing on a hangar platform to a planet she had no recognition of. There was no sun in the sky and the heat was like a thick cloud, suffocating all._

_“I don’t know you anymore!” Padme’s cry caused Leia turn to around. There her mother stood, in different clothes and her hair braided down her back. There was a look of anguish on her face and she took several steps back from where Anakin stood, his glare becoming harsh as he stared at her._

_“Anakin, you’re breaking my heart! You’re going down a path I can’t follow!” Padme looked heartbroken as her voice cracked on the words. Tears formed in her eyes, threatening to fall down her cheeks._

_Anakin seemed to get more irate at her words, lifting his head up as he spoke. “Because of Obi-Wan?”_

_“Because of what you’ve done— what you plan to do! Stop! Stop now! Come back.”_

_Leia watched as her father’s eyes moved to something over Padme’s head and when Leia turned to see what he was glaring at, she saw an elder auburn haired man walk down the ramp of a ship. Obi-Wan. He looked like what Leia remembered of him in her earliest memories: greying hair at his temples with a fear crinkles near the corner of his eyes._

_It was like a lightbulb turning on in Leia’s head as she turned her gaze back to where her parents stood. This was their final encounter. Obi-Wan had never spoken about what had occurred on Mustafar during their final show-down._

_All he’d said was that Padme had gone to talk sense into her husband, failed and been pushed into premature labour as the result. Obi-Wan and Vader had fought, resulting in the latter wearing a life-support suit for the rest of his life._

_Luke had made various comments over the years that Vader had mentioned regret about what occurred on Mustafar that day. But Vader had never offered an explanation nor told his son about what had happened. And Luke hadn’t pressed for why._

_As Leia turned back to the scene, she was aware of the fact Padme had yet to notice Obi-Wan’s presence. “I love you!” The pregnant woman cried, her belly sticking out of the tan suit she was wearing. She was clearly heavily pregnant but not close enough to her due date._

_“LIAR!” Vader roared with nothing but pure malice. The sound made Leia jump and she watched as Padme looked behind her, noticing Obi-Wan for the first time. As she looked back at Vader, she wondered how the man glaring at Padme right now with such hate could’ve been the same one who’d lovingly rubbed her belly._

_Padme stumbled backwards, fear in her eyes. “No!”_

_“You’re with him! You brought him here to kill me!”_

_Leia watched in horror as Vader raised up his gloved hand, extending it out towards his pregnant wife. His children lay in her stomach and yet the Sith didn’t care as his fingers pinched together, using the Force to cut off her air supply. Padme grabbed at her throat, her feet being lifted off the ground slightly as her eyes bulged._

_Distantly, Leia realised that in all the times she’d had this dream, it had never gotten to this point before. She felt sick to watch her mother struggle, her feet glued to the ground so she couldn’t try and intervene._

_There was betrayal and hurt in Padme’s eyes as she whispered her husband’s name. She shook her head with what little energy she had left, her lips forming broken words. “Anakin—“_

_And then Vader let her go. Nausea rolled in Leia’s stomach as her mother fell to the ground, unconscious. Vader turned on Obi-Wan and the two men starting yelling at one another but Leia was too horrified to listen. Her knees buckled and before she knew it, she was kneeling on the platform trying to stop her head from spinning._

_How could he have done that?_

_The question circled around in Leia’s mind and no matter how many times she thought it, there was no answer presented._

_Had he even cared about the child(ren) in his wife’s womb? Would he have cared if his violent act had killed the life they’d created? Vader could’ve killed Padme, taking Luke and Leia with her— would he have even mourned them?_

_“Leia,” her mother’s voice was weak and when Leia turned her head to the woman, she noticed that Padme now lay on a surgical table. The vileness of Mustafar faded away as a medical room suddenly bloomed around them. The surgical walls were white and there was a chill to the room._

_Padme’s brown eyes, identical to Leia’s, were filled with uncontrolled sadness and heavy tears ran down her cheeks. There was the sound of a baby crying nearby but Leia didn’t take her eyes off her mother as Padme’s head lulled slightly._

_“There’s good in him— I know, I know there’s still. . .”_

_Leia closed her eyes when Padme's voice faded away, turning away so she wouldn't see what she knew would scar her_ _. A sob escaped her throat, mingling in perfectly with the cry of a baby in the background._

_She thought of the love she’d felt at the start of her dream as her parents had sat in the glow of their pregnancy and looked forward to their future together. They’d been so happy and so in love._

_And yet . . . people didn’t do what Vader had done to those they loved._

_A firm hand pressed down on Leia’s shoulder and when she looked up, blinking back tears, Bail Organa stood before her. His face was just as wrinkled as she remembered and there were deep grey seeping through his roots._

_“You have your father’s blood running through your veins, but never forget you also have your mother’s.”_

Leia sat up in her bed, panting heavily as she felt sweat cling to her skin. It took a second to remember where she was and for her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room around her. A cold feeling weighed on her chest and Leia could still hear Vader’s echo of _LIAR_ bounce around in her brain.

A tear ran down her cheek but she wiped it away as soon as it came. All her life, Leia had seen Anakin and Vader as two separate people. One was a hero, a Jedi and her father whilst the other was a monster, a Sith and a murderer. Luke had always believed that Anakin’s goodness lived on in Vader but for Leia to comprehend that, she’d have to see the men as one and the same.

A shiver ran down Leia’s spine as she thought of how Vader had glared at her mother and how he’d yelled at her with such anger and hate. The man he’d been on Mustafar was a far cry from the loving husband and excited father she’d seen sitting in her mother’s apartment. So how could they be the same man?

All of the stories Leia had ever heard about her biological parents played in her mind. She remembered Obi-Wan’s bedtime stories about the couple and Artoo’s loving memories about his former friends. Obi-Wan had always been on the outside of their relationship but according to him, he’d always known the twin’s parents were together even if he’d not wanted to admit it (apparently her biological father was about as subtle as a Wookie in a crowd).

And Leia thought of what Artoo had recounted mere days ago, before she’d even gone to Coruscant to save Luke. The astromech droid had told her story after story about her parents but the ones that had stuck out had been about their secret marriage. The Jedi Order forbade attachments and yet her parents had married in secret, unable to live a life apart. Their wedding had been short and small, with only the droids in attendance but according to Artoo, he’d never seen Leia’s mother happier.

Every story and kind word and humorous remark about how unsubtle her parents had been in hiding their relationship played in Leia’s mind.

And she was left with the burning question of: _how_? How could he have done that? Choked the woman he’d loved— the woman who’d been carrying his unborn children! Had he cared about Leia and Luke in Padme’s womb; had he thought that by choking his wife he could’ve been putting his babies at risk?

‘ _Are you alright?’_ Luke asked through their bond and when Leia latched herself onto their link, she realised he was wide awake. It was past midnight in Imperial City and yet her brother was still refusing to sleep, days after he’d finally left Coruscant.

Instead of replying, Leia climbed off the bed and followed Luke’s presence to the cockpit. Her brother was sitting in the pilot’s seat, his legs pulled tight against his chest as he stared off into the blue and white haze around them. This was their last day in Hyperspace before they finally reached Tatooine and Leia knew they would both be pleased to finally get off this ship.

The bags under Luke’s eyes had reduced now, the past two days of nightmare-less sleep finally doing him some good. But as Leia sat down in the co-pilot seat, she snuck a quick glance at her brother and noticed the dried tear-tracks running down his cheeks.

They sat in silence for a little while, neither feeling brave enough to speak. Leia was just debating whether to mention her nightmare/vision and drop the bombshell of the horrible truths she’d learnt when Luke beat her to the chase.

“I miss him,” his voice was quiet and dripping in sadness. The words got caught in Luke’s throat and when Leia glanced at him, he wiped a tear away as he continued to stare out into space. “And I know you hate him but I don’t. I love him Leia; he’s our father whether you see him that way or not. And I miss him."

The urge to tell Luke about her nightmare became almost too much and Leia could see in her mind’s eye as Luke’s face crumpled even more after he learnt exactly what Vader had done to their mother. Leia wasn’t naive enough to think Luke’s love and ability to forgive Vader would be completely destroyed after he learnt the truth but she knew his opinion on the man would be broken slightly.

For years Luke had known of the horrors Vader committed and yet he’d always stuck to the fact that Vader had never hurt those he loved. It didn’t make the Sith Lord's actions to others redeemable in Luke’s mind but it was a step towards it. Leia called it hopeful naivety but Luke was adamant that there was good in the man and that his love for his family proved that.

_There’s good in him— I know, I know there’s still . . ._

Leia clamped her mouth shut and locked the horrible vision to the back of her mind. One day her brother would realise that Vader was past redemption and that Anakin Skywalker really had died. He’d realise that the man he’d been living with was nothing but a twisted version of his real father and that love was not enough to save the man.

Leia knew when that day came it would be brutal for Luke to face but she didn’t want that day to be today.

“You’re allowed to miss him, regardless of my opinions,” she said instead, trying to keep her voice comforting and quiet. The ship was eerie, Artoo and Threepio were shut off charging in the back and the only sounds were of Leia and Luke, coupled with the gentle humming of the ship’s engine.

Luke sniffled, wiping at his nose. “I just keeping wondering whether he’s seen my message or not. What if he heard about what happened through someone other than me? And what if he hates me because I betrayed the Empire? I don’t want him to disown me.”

Leia didn’t know what to say: she didn’t know the man. She’d never met Vader and all she had were stories about the man he used to be. So she said exactly what she thought Luke was hoping to hear. “I don’t think he’ll disown you; he’ll probably just want you back and he’ll be mad that all this happened when he was off-world and oblivious. No doubt he’s probably going to rage at me for ‘kidnapping’ his son. But I don’t think he’ll hate you Luke.”

Vader’s roar of _LIAR_ circled Leia’s head and for a second she saw Luke clutching at his throat and not Padme. She quickly blinked, pushing that thought away.

Luke sniffed once more and silence resumed. When her brother did finally speak up once more, he sounded almost upbeat. “We weren’t completely dysfunctional, you know? We actually got along really well when it was just us and the Empire kinda faded into the background. One time, when I was really ill and he stayed with me for several days just to look after me, he started talking about the past and about Mom. He thought I was asleep, I’m sure. Father would never have talked about her if knew I was awake.”

“What did he say?” Leia knew Luke had expressed his frustrations on multiple occasions about how Vader refused to talk about their mother. It was practically a taboo subject between the pair and now that Leia had seen their final moments, she understood why the topic was so painful. Not that he didn’t deserve it, but Leia guessed the thought of Padme was a pain like no other to her biological father.

Luke smiled, his head rolling to the side to look at her. Brown eyes met blue and Leia was happy to see her brother’s sadness fading away, albeit only a little. “He said that, when Mom was pregnant, he was convinced they were having a girl. Apparently they used to playfully argue about it because Mom thought the baby was a boy. He said that he’d dreamt of having a little girl who looked just like her mother and that when he found me on Tatooine, he was confused for a second for he’d been wrong. But then he said he’d been happy that even though Mom died, she’d been right in the gender and could’ve had that small victory.”

Leia didn’t know what to say so she turned her head to stare out at the blue and white haze of stars as they blurred past them. _He’s kicking again— she!_

“Little did they know,” Leia hated how tight her voice was. “They were getting both.”

Luke chuckled, either ignoring her depleting mood or unaware of it. “What a shock it must’ve been.”

Silence resumed once again and Leia tried her best to push away the nightmare she’d woken up from. No matter how hard she tried, she kept hearing Vader’s yells and Obi-Wan’s demands to let her mother go.

Obi-Wan . . .

“Do you think Obi-Wan is with the Rebellion?” Leia suddenly asked, stumbling over her words. “There’s been no Kenobi sightings for years— trust me I scoured for hours to find some. And I’ve been helping Bail with things in the Rebel Alliance for a while now and I’ve heard nothing.” She paused for a second before adding an afterthought. “Although, I wouldn’t put it past Bail to hide anything about Obi-Wan from me.”

Luke hummed. “I was thinking about it and I’ve never heard Father mention anything either. There would’ve been a big deal made if he’d killed his former Master so I always assumed Obi-Wan was still alive. It wasn’t like Obi-Wan to sit back and not help so I thought he would’ve been with the Rebellion.”

“He wasn’t with the Rebellion when we were kids though,” Leia frowned. “And that was the prime time of the Empire’s establishment.”

“He wasn’t with the Rebellion _because_ we were kids,” Luke pointed out. “Obi-Wan went into hiding— for us.”

“Do you think he’s in hiding now?”

“Maybe?” Luke paused. “I know Father hated him— he thought Obi-Wan took me to Tatooine as a newborn and blamed his former Master for hiding me from him. He wanted Obi-Wan dead for years, especially because of their duel. It would make sense for Obi-Wan to hide, even after we were separated.”

“I hope he’s okay, wherever he is,” Leia sighed.

“I know we’ll see him one day soon,” Luke spoke with his usual optimism. “I just feel so hopeful about it.” Leia didn’t share her brother’s optimism but she didn’t question it.

“You should get your hand looked at when we reach the Rebellion,” Leia decided it would be best to change the subject. The more they dwelled on things they didn’t know, the more pessimistic Leia could feel herself getting. Who knew if Obi-Wan was still alive? What if he’d been killed mere days after he’d left Leia on Alderaan and taken Luke to Tatooine? What if—

“It’s fine,” Luke rolled his eyes, flexing his fingers to see how bad it ached. He’d washed off the dried blood and it no longer looked like something from a Horror film. The bruises were starting to come down in colour, the dark purplish stains becoming more of a blue as the days went by. And Leia had stuck a bacta-patch onto the cuts to help them heal. They hadn’t even been that deep.

“You’re hand could be broken Luke—“

“What about your arm?” Her brother cut in, fixing her with an annoyed look. “You keep going on about my hand but seem to forget you have a bandaged arm. Which, by the way, you still haven’t told me how you got that injury.”

Leia cringed, she’d been hoping Luke would’ve forgotten about that. Her brother had made a comment about it on the day they’d left but after sticking a bacta-patch on the wound and re-wrapping the bandage, Leia had hoped he would’ve ignored it. It was easier to fight someone else on their injuries than face your own.

“It’s not serious,” Leia rolled her eyes.

“But you were still hurt! Did you get it during your escape?”

Leia sighed, knowing there was no way out of this. “The Inquisitor knicked me with her lightsaber before our duel, but I don’t think it’s serious.”

Luke’s eyes bugged and he leaned forward in his chair, his mouth forming an ‘o’ shape. “Did you just say your _duel_? You fought an Inquisitor? And you survived?!”

“Thanks for the confidence vote!” Leia huffed, crossing her arms. Did Luke really have such little faith?

“Leia,” Luke spoke slowly like he was still trying to comprehend what his sister had said. “You do know that our father personally oversaw the training of the Inquisitors right? They’re some of the best trained soldiers in the Galaxy, perfectly designed to hunt down Jedi and have contributed to the deaths of many Jedi Purge survivors!”

“Yeah?” She didn’t see what point Luke was trying to make. “So?”

“So— Leia, you’re untrained! You survived what partially and fully trained Jedi could not! You beat an Inquisitor!”

“I didn’t beat her,” Leia rolled her eyes.

“But you escaped and survived— which is a form of success in my eyes. Wow,” Luke leant back in his chair, nodding. “That’s pretty wizard Leia.” It took two seconds after Luke’s final words for his eyes to widen once more and turn his gaze back on his sister. “Wait . . . when you say duel— do you mean with lightsabers?!”

“Uh, yeah.”

“You fought with Dad’s lightsaber?” Luke’s voice rose an octave.

“So? You fought with his lightsaber back on Coruscant!”

“Yeah but only to deflect blaster bolts! Not to fight an Inquisitor!”

Now that she was safe in the comfort of the ship and her worry for Luke had ebbed away, Leia allowed herself to reflect on the short-lived duel with the Inquisitor. At the time Leia had been so hyped up on adrenaline and fear that she’d not stopped to admire the fact she’d fought with a lightsaber for the first time. But now she thought back on it, Anakin’s lightsaber had felt so right in her hands and fighting with the weapon, whilst slightly awkward due to lack of training, had been like second nature.

“It was pretty wizard,” Leia smiled, thinking back to the way her blade had clashed against the Inquisitor’s.

Luke turned the pilot’s seat around, any and all thoughts of sleep being pushed from his mind. “You’re going to have to tell me everything now— and I mean everything.”

Leia laughed, finding joy at her brother’s wide-eyed expression. She knew Luke could easily feel jealous at her having her first lightsaber duel before him but there was only wonder in her brother’s gaze. It was refreshing and kind.

As she recounted what had happened step by step, exaggerating small parts and making the Inquisitor seem scarier than she’d been, Leia found her nightmare leaving her mind. The past was past and Leia knew neither she nor Luke would make the same mistakes as their biological father.

They were the best of both Anakin and Padme and Leia knew both she and Luke would make their parents proud.


	11. Tatooine

“Oh curse the Maker!” Threepio’s voice started to grate on Leia’s nerves as he stood behind her chair in the cockpit, making a comment every five seconds about Luke’s flying. They’d pulled out of hyperspace just over ten minutes ago and the planet of Tatooine loomed before them. Leia had never been to the desert planet herself but from all of Luke’s stories and the way he was frowning now, she knew it wouldn't be a pleasant place.

“Oh please do slow down Master Luke!” Threepio continued on, his hand gripping the back of Leia’s chair as Luke flew towards the planet before them. Even from the distance, Tatooine looked harsh with patches of lighter and darker tan colours covering the surface. “I would just hate to crash land on that dustball!”

Artoo let out a string of beeps from where he sat beside Luke, ready to connect to the controls if the boy needed some help landing the ship.

“How rude!” Leia rolled her eyes at Threepio’s incredulous tone. She liked the golden droid, she really did, but Threepio seemed to be programmed with the ability to annoy anyone who was near him. “Artoo, I cannot believe you would say such a thing to me!”

Artoo beeped once more, managing to aggravate Threepio yet again.

“Annoying?” The protocol droid sounded offended, if that was even possible. “I do not know what you’re talking about you stupid astromech droid. You must have a few wires loose! If I was being annoying, Master Luke or Mistress Leia would’ve—“

“Threepio?” Leia massaged her temples, sharing a look with her brother for a second. “Can you keep it down? Like you said: we don’t want to crash land on this dustball.”

“I can’t believe I’m back here,” Luke’s voice was dark when they entered Tatooine’s atmosphere. He was flying with the ease of someone double his age, despite having never flown a ship of this size before. Luke had admitted that whilst he had his license, it only applied to speeders and Vader had never let him fly in space before. Whilst Leia had all the faith in her brother to land safely, she couldn’t hide the fact that she was slightly nervous.

“Just be glad that this time, you won’t be here for so long,” Leia sighed, her fingers going white as she pressed them into the seat. Luke was flying a little too fast for her liking, heading down towards the sandy land with a bit more force than necessary.

She squeezed her eyes tight when Threepio let out a yell of: “Oh dear! We’re going to die!” But her faith in Luke didn’t slip, even when she felt his mood suddenly dip and the ship lurch at an awkward angle. If the vessel got damaged then not only would they lose out on credits to sell the thing but they’d be stuck on this hellhole.

Leaving the life of a Princess behind and becoming an Outer Rim farmer was not something Leia had pictured for herself.

There was a sudden shake and then a rather ungraceful thump but when Leia opened her eyes, she realised they had safely landed on the sandy planet. There was a smile on Luke’s face and pride gleaming in his eyes.

“I did it!”

Despite feeling both proud and pleased with her brother that he hadn’t killed them in his unskilled landing, Leia rolled her eyes. “Well done you nerf. Now let’s go sell this thing—“

Leia paused, looking out at the land from the window of the ship. All she could see was sand. For miles and miles and miles, everywhere she turned was just sand. There was a small homestead in the near distance, with an igloo-styled dome peaking above the surface. A frown settled on Leia’s face and when she turned back to Luke, there was something guilty in his expression.

“This is not a space port,” Leia stated the obvious. “Why are we in the middle of nowhere?”

“I, uh,” Luke paused, his eyes moving to the igloo-styled homestead and there was something familiar in his gaze. Something a little sad. And then it clicked in Leia’s head.

“Wait— is this the Lars’ homestead? Is this where Obi-Wan brought you six years ago?”

Luke nodded, his voice wobbling slightly. “I know we don’t have much time but Father practically dragged me off of Tatooine the second he arrived. I didn’t get to say goodbye to Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru properly. I just want them to know that I’m okay.”

Leia wanted to argue that time wasn’t on their side and detours like this could set them back but she understood her brother’s longing. The Lars’ had only cared for Luke for six months maximum but they’d still agreed to take him in when he’d been in need and they’d been willing to raise him until adulthood if Vader hadn’t of interfered.

After all, Leia realised, they were family.

Luke was eyeing his sister warily, unsure if she was about to yell at him. But Leia just sighed and nodded. “Okay. They deserve to know their nephew is alright.”

“And their niece,” Luke smiled back, climbing out of the pilot’s seat and heading towards the back of the ship to lower the ramp. _Niece_ , Leia thought. She’d had legal Aunts on Alderaan but none of them had ever felt like her true family. She’d never really been anyone’s niece and whilst she’d known of the Lars’ and their relation to her, she’d never really thought of them as _her_ Aunt and Uncle. They’d always just been Luke’s in her mind.

When the ship’s ramp lowered, the full heat of the planet hit the twins like a slap to the face. Force, it was hot. Twin suns burned in the sky and the air was sweaty and uncomfortable. Even in the shade, the blistering heat threatened to harm Leia’s skin and made her feel suddenly dehydrated.

“When you said Tatooine was hot,” Leia raised her hand to shade her eyes from the suns. “I honestly didn’t picture _this_. And I thought Alderaan’s heatwaves could be painful— this is a million times worse!” It was like being in an endless sauna, the hot air burning her nose each time she took in a breath.

Luke wiped a line of sweat off his brow, pausing on the ramp before he touched the sand. Memories he’d rather forget about this place came back as he looked off into the horizon, seeing the heat mirage dance in the distance. He could remember crying when Obi-Wan brought him here, the tears drying on his cheeks the second they left his eyes. He could remember stumbling off into the unknown, dehydrated and lost before collapsing on the sand miles away from the homestead, unaware that he’d Force-called out to his father.

The Lars’ had been good people who’d cared for Luke greatly but Tatooine had been Luke’s own personal hell and he'd known, the second he'd left, that he wouldn’t miss it.

“Artoo, Threepio, you stay here with the ship,” Luke called as he took off his school’s blazer and the thin jumper underneath, throwing it back inside the ship. Even in just his light tunic, the heat was still unbearable. He cursed his school for favouring dark colours.

Artoo let out an ear-splitting whistle, going off on a tangent of beeps and whistles that Luke could only comprehend to be an argument. Threepio shuffled forward. “I must agree with Artoo for once, Master Luke. We would both feel more comfortable if we accompanied you and Mistress Leia.”

“We’ll be fine Threepio,” Leia’s face scrunched up as her feet touched the sand. She was still dressed in the long-flowing white dress and high boots that she’d left Alderaan in (although the dress had definitely seen better days) but not even the airy material of her dress saved her from the suns’ heat.

Artoo beeped again with slight anger this time, rolling down the ramp and bumping into Luke’s legs with a not-so-subtle nudge.

“We do insist, Mistress Leia,” Threepio translated, moving down the ramp in stiff movements.

“Fine,” Luke patted Artoo’s dome, walking towards the homestead. “But you better stay close, Uncle Owen doesn’t like droids very much!”

“Oh dear me, who doesn’t like droids?” Threepio mumbled to himself as he followed at a slower pace.

“So this is where you could’ve grown up,” Leia kicked at the sand at her feet, hating how she could feel some in-between her toes. She was wearing high boots and yet the sand had still found a way to sneak in. As she looked around at the vastness of simply sand and nothing else, Leia felt a stab of guilt that this could’ve been the life Luke was subjected to whilst she’d been staring at Alderaan’s beautiful mountains.

“Yeah,” Luke frowned, not looking pleased at the fact. “Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen were amazing people and I was sad to leave them but I thank the Force everyday that I was only here for six months. You should’ve seen the sandstorms that happened here, Leia: they were so deadly. The first time I experienced one, there were just heaps of sand everywhere. It took days for us to clean the vaporators and the courtyard— only for another sandstorm to hit.”

Leia was about to relay her first experience of a snowstorm on Alderaan but then she paused. She’d been a Princess, sitting in her large bedroom as she’d watched the weather war outside. And when the snow had settled, she’d played in it like a carefree child. Luke's experience had been about hardship and manual work, not something fun.

It was strange to think that had Obi-Wan not taken them both to Naboo to be with him, they could’ve had such different lives. Leia would’ve been a Princess from birth and Luke would’ve been stuck on this planet, living his entire life amongst the sand and heat.

And they wouldn’t have known the other existed— which, to Leia, sounded worse than Hell.

“Are we meant to knock?” Leia cleared her throat as they reached the homestead, pushing the dark thoughts from her mind. The igloo-shaped dome had a small stairway that led to a closed, metal door.

Instead of replying, Luke walked over to a raised sandbank and leaned slightly over the side to look below. Leia followed him, peering below to see that there was a massive hole in the ground and at the bottom seemed to be a sort of large courtyard. Sand covered the ground but it was flattened down and spread evenly, almost like it were a carpet.

“Uncle Owen! Aunt Beru!” Luke yelled loudly, continuing to stare down at the courtyard. “Aunt Beru!”

There was silence for a few seconds so Luke called out again. This time they were met with the soft and questioning call of a woman’s voice. “Luke? Luke, is that you?” An older woman came rushing out to the middle of the courtyard, staring upwards to where Luke stood on the bank. Her face lit up and a smile stretched across her features as she clasped her hands together with happiness. “Oh Luke, it _is_ you!”

Luke smiled back, a soft look in his eyes. “Hi Aunt Beru!”

“Owen! Owen!” The woman called towards whatever room she’d just run from. “It’s Luke! Our Luke! He’s back!”

Leia watched as a gruff looking man with shaggy brown hair waltzed towards where his wife stood. “Beru, have you been spending too long in the sun?” He questioned, frowning at her.

“Owen, look!” Beru pointed upwards and Leia watched as Luke’s Uncle (and her Uncle too, she added as a side-thought) finally spotted his nephew up on the bank. A startled look turned into a smile and Owen Lars let out a gruff laugh.

“Luke, my boy!”

“Uncle Owen, I’ve missed you!” Luke laughed back. “Do you mind letting us in?”

“Do I mind?” Owen’s voice trailed off as he disappeared from sight, only to appear before them at the open door a few seconds later. “Of course I don’t mind, my boy! How have you been? Stars, we’ve been so worried about you. Beru was nearly in a fit when you first left.”

“I’m doing good, Uncle Owen,” Luke smiled as his Uncle ruffled his hair. Leia got the impression that Owen Lars was not a physically affectionate man but the ruffle of Luke’s hair and the smile he gave her brother spoke volumes of how much her twin had been cared for here.

Owen’s eyes darted to Leia, a question hidden in his brown orbs. Ever the Princess, she stepped forward and introduced herself with what she hoped was good grace. This was the first time she was meeting a member of her extended family and Leia wanted to make a good impression.

“Hello, you must be Owen Lars. I’m Leia.” She paused, not knowing how to finish that introduction. Did she say Leia Organa? Her title of Princess (or her former title as it now was) didn’t matter here. Or did she say Leia Skywalker? Neither she nor Luke had spoken about whether they were retaking their birth names or keeping the last names they’d had for the past six years.

In the end, a last name wasn’t necessary for Owen seemed to know exactly who she was. His eyes widened and his projected shock spoke volumes. But then he smiled and moved past Luke to put a comforting hand on her shoulder with a gentle squeeze. “So you’re the infamous Leia! Luke never shut up about you when he was with us! I’m honoured to finally meet Shmi’s granddaughter.”

Leia had heard from Luke’s many stories about Tatooine that their grandmother, Shmi Skywalker, had been loved very much by the Lars family. Neither Owen or Beru had told him much about the woman; all Luke knew was that she’d married Uncle Owen’s father and she’d been a kind, gentle and compassionate soul up until her untimely death.

“You look a bit like her,” Owen mused, his eyes searching Leia’s face with the hint of a smile. “You have her strong chin.”

Leia felt suddenly overwhelmed; she looked like her grandmother? She’d never seen pictures of the woman but her heart burned with the realisation that she’d never meet the woman who was so ingrained in Leia’s history.

“Luke!” Beru’s voice called from inside the homestead and her brother wasted no time in running to her. Leia followed at a slower pace and when she rounded the corner, she saw Luke being tightly held in the arms of an elder woman. Beru’s hair was a light brown and her features were withered from the sun but there was an air of kindness to her. She watched as her Aunt stroked Luke’s blonde hair with a soft laugh. “Oh look how you’ve grown! You’re more a man now than the child I remember! How have you been? You’ve been safe, I hope?”

Luke pulled out of his Aunt’s hold with a small smile. “Yes, I’ve been fine. I’ve been on Coruscant— it’s practically the safest planet in the Galaxy.”

‘ _Uh no it’s not,_ ’ Leia shot back at her brother.

‘ _Shut up_. _I don’t want Aunt Beru to worry._ ’

“Aunt Beru, I want you to meet my sister. Leia, this is Aunt Beru.” Luke smiled between the two women as he watched their Aunt’s eyes widen at Leia, her mouth forming an ‘o’ shape.

“Oh my goodness,” Beru had tears in her eyes. “After all these years, I finally get to meet Shmi’s granddaughter! My child, you look so much like her!”

Leia was instantly pulled into the woman’s embrace and she marvelled at how warm and friendly her Aunt seemed to be. She could see why Luke had cared a lot about her during his time on Tatooine. “I’m so glad to meet you!” Leia cried out, feeling suddenly emotional. She’d never dreamt about meeting the Lars’ nor had she paid much mind to the idea but these people were just as much her family as they were Luke’s and her grandmother’s. And they clearly cared about Leia more than she’d realised.

‘ _Thank you for bringing us here_ ,’ she whispered to Luke through their bond. Her brother didn’t reply but the smile on his face said all she needed to know.

“Are these your droids Luke?” Owen broke through the moment, eyeing up Artoo and Threepio from where they stood off to the side. “I swear I could’ve seen them before,” the man mumbled, almost to himself.

“Uh, these droids now belong to Leia and I— apparently they were our mother’s droids and Artoo worked closely with our father during the Clone Wars,” Luke nodded, watching his Uncle as the man took a liking to Threepio.

“Oh my,” Threepio shuffled around on his feet when Owen got a little bit too close. Artoo let out a string of beeps that no one but the protocol droid seemed to understand. “My rude excuse of a friend, Artoo, seems to believe that we’ve met sir but I do not recall whatever he could be talking about!”

Owen paused, looking like he’d been slapped. “C-3PO?”

Luke frowned, stepping closer. “Uncle Owen, you know my droids?”

“ _Your_ droids? Boy, this protocol droid used to belong to your grandmother!”

‘ _Did I just hear that right?_ ’ Leia asked through their bond as she and Luke exchanged a confused look.

“These droids used to belong to our mother,” Leia corrected him. “They’ve been in the custody of one of my adoptive father’s close friends ever since she died.”

Owen acted like hadn’t heard his niece, motioning for his wife to come join him in inspecting Threepio. “Beru, don’t you recognise this droid? It’s Shmi’s, isn’t it?”

‘ _Uncle Owen must be losing it after all these years_ ,’ Luke sent back.

Artoo let out a string of beeps once more. “What? That is not possible, Artoo! I would remember such a thing!” Threepio yelled with indignation.

“What did he say?” Luke asked the protocol droid, feeling like he was in some sort of Holonet crime drama and a massive part of the puzzle was slowly being revealed.

If Threepio could roll his eyes, the droid would’ve done so. “Artoo claims that I used to live here on this very farm and that my maker was this Mistress Shmi’s son! But I do not recall such a thing and I would know who my Maker is, Artoo!”

“When you say Mistress Shmi’s son,” Leia paused. “Is Artoo saying that your Maker was _Anakin Skywalker_ — as in Luke and I’s _father_?” Honestly, to discover these droids used to belong to her mother was one thing but that Threepio had been _made_ by her biological father . . . Leia wondered how many more secrets she’d been hidden from. The new information could so easily be brushed under the rug but to Luke and Leia, who were near-orphans, it shocked them right to their core.

“I believe so,” Threepio seemed unfazed, as if he'd not just dropped a truth-bomb. “But it is absolutely absurd and Artoo simply loves to act like a know-it-all.”

Owen hummed, “Now I think of it, Shmi did say that her droid was built by her Anakin. Something about him building it to help her around the house.”

“So Threepio really was made by our father?” Luke’s stunned expression would have made Leia laugh if she hadn't been feeling the exact same way her brother looked.

“I believe so,” Beru agreed, a smile appearing on her face when Artoo whistled. She patted his dome with a gentle hand. “Ah, I remember you. A smart little droid you were.”

“You know Artoo too?” Luke’s mouth dropped open. “How?!”

“How did Threepio become to be in possession of our mother if he was our grandmother’s droid?” Leia frowned, feeling like she was missing something important.

“I still don’t believe it is true,” Threepio mumbled to which he was ignored. “I would’ve remembered such a thing!”

“Anakin and your mother came to us a month after your grandmother went missing,” even after all these years, Owen’s eyes still darkened at the memory of Shmi’s kidnapping. “They brought the astromech droid with them. It was the only time we ever met your father and I can only assume the woman with him was your mother. After Shmi’s funeral, they left and took the protocol droid with them. I suppose Anakin must’ve gifted C-3PO to your mother when the war started.”

“I’m surprised they’re still active,” Beru hummed. “They must be rather old now.”

Artoo let out a string of beeps and Leia had to hide her laugh behind her hand; she may not speak binary but she could hear Artoo’s offence like a siren. No doubt he didn’t take kindly to her Aunts words. “We’ll take care of them,” Leia smiled at the droids. “They’re family.”

“I know Anakin and your mother were very fond of them,” Owen spoke in a voice like he didn’t agree.

“I know the feeling,” Luke patted Artoo’s dome, receiving a soft whistle in reply.

 _‘How come Threepio doesn’t remember his time here?’_ Luke sent across their bond as Aunt Beru started hurrying them inside to prepare some lunch and began to demand they drink something before they became dehydrated. There was a slightly panicked edge to her tone and Luke tried not to cringe, knowing that she was thinking of the very event over five years ago which had ended in Luke being taken from them.

 _‘Artoo mentioned something about a memory wipe when we were born,’_ Leia shot back. ‘ _I guess Bail or Captain Antilles thought he might mention something he wasn’t supposed to about us or our parents.’_

Luke hummed, receiving an odd look from Owen Lars as he wasn’t privy to their private conversation. _‘I can’t believe our father actually made Threepio. I know he left Tatooine with the Jedi as a child so he must built him at a young age.’_

 _‘He could’ve made him less annoying,’_ Leia teased.

_‘Does that make Threepio our brother?’_

_‘I already have a brother and trust me, one is enough!’_

Luke rolled his eyes. _‘I, for one, think that having a brother is better than a sister.’_

As they were walking, Leia held out her foot, smirking when it connected with Luke’s leg and her brother stumbled a little. She felt, more than saw, his frown.’ _Of course you’d like a droid better then me,’_ she replied when he’d recovered, dodging when he attempted to push her in retaliation.

Out of the corner of her eye, Leia saw Owen Lars smile and shake his head at their antics. There was something so familiar at the action and Leia was suddenly reminded of Obi-Wan and his exasperated fondness of their playful teasing.

For the first time in a long time, Leia was reminded of what a normal family was like.

* * *

“More blue milk?” Beru smiled at Leia, holding up a jug of the liquid. Being a Princess for six years, Leia was used to being waited on hand and foot with all her meals being prepared by professional cooks. But there was something so homey and serene about a meal prepared by family, with a mother-figure smiling down at her, ready to pour more milk into her glass. The Lars weren't rich by any means and their food was sparse but Leia found herself envious that none of the meals she'd been served on Alderaan had an ounce of the love and care that Aunt Beru had put into her own cooking.

“Yes please,” Leia smiled back. Luke had once raved about the blue milk that was common on Tatooine and considering she was on her third glass, she had to admit it was rather tasty. It was sweet and warm but not too sickly.

Owen cleared his throat, going back to the conversation they’d just been having. He sounded more forceful than Leia thought he meant to be but Owen was a rather gruff character and she knew he meant well.

“I want you to know that we did everything we could to try and get you back. We almost sold the farm to buy a flight off-world!”

Luke almost choked on his food, taking a sip of blue milk to swallow it down. “What? Why!”

“So we could get you back, sweetheart.” Aunt Beru had barely touched her food and as she set the jug of blue milk back down, there was a sad look on her face as she stared at Luke. “We just wanted you back, Luke. We were so worried!”

“I want you guys to know I was safe, okay? He’s my father, he didn’t hurt me— he would never hurt me!”

“That . . . _monster_ was not your father!” Owen frowned and his heavy eyebrows bushed together on his stern face. Leia could see why Luke had described their Uncle to be sort of a brute but she also knew Owen’s heart was large underneath his rough exterior. “He was not Shmi’s son!”

“He may not be the same man you once met nor the son that our grandmother raised, but he was still my father,” Luke stressed. “He still _is_ my father.”

“And you’re being honest that he never hurt you?” Beru’s eyes were wide and filled with fear. It was clear she'd been stressing over this for a long time.

“I swear Aunt Beru, he would never hurt a hair on my head,” Luke replied softly.

“We just felt like we failed!” Aunt Beru wailed, bringing up a hand to dab at the tears in her eyes. “Master Kenobi gave you to us to protect you and then only a few months later, the very man you were hidden from found you! We tried to contact Master Kenobi to tell him of the situation but he’d left no communication details. There was a hermit who lived in the Jundland Wastes who we believed could be him but when we travelled there, the man was long gone!”

“You didn’t fail,” Luke sighed. “I’m fine! I received top education on Coruscant, I got my license, I made friends . . . I’ve had a happy life Aunt Beru.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Leia added in, feeling the woman’s distress through the Force. “My cover got blown too and that wasn’t my adoptive parent’s faults.”

Owen made a humming noise, leaning forwards in his chair so his elbows were on the table. “I was wondering about why you were here. Didn’t Kenobi give you to some rich family on a Core World? A friend of your mother’s I believe?”

“I was adopted by Bail and Breha Organa, yes,” Leia nodded. “They were part of the Royal House of Organa on Alderaan.”

“Royal?” Beru’s eyes widened even further.

“Leia’s technically a Princess,” Luke shrugged like it was no big deal, taking another sip of his blue milk. It had been a long time since he’d had this beverage; Luke had almost forgotten how much he’d loved it!

“Did you say your cover was blown?” Owen’s gaze darted between the twins. “Is that why you’re here? I can understand Luke returning, although I was under the impression that _Vader_ would disapprove of it, but why did you come too? It was Beru and I’s knowledge that you two were meant to stay separated so no-one knew you were twins.”

Leia swallowed heavily, “Uh, there was an incident—“

“By ‘incident’, Leia means that the Emperor discovered the truth and sent an Inquisitor— you know, a Jedi killer— after her. Senator Organa, Leia’s adoptive father, was killed in the efforts to protect her and then Leia came to Coruscant to grab me so we could escape before the Emperor could do more damage.”

‘ _You could’ve said that a little bit nicer!’_ Leia growled through their bond.

_‘What’s the point in stepping around the truth?’_

Beru looked ready to cry. “That’s terrible! Are you alright, sweetheart?”

Leia nodded, hoping her bandage wasn’t too visible through the cut in her dress. “I’m fine, thank you. I’m sorry for Luke’s crass way of describing it,” she kicked her leg out on the word crass, her foot connecting with Luke’s calf with a lot of force.

Luke jumped, ‘ _OW! Leia!_ ’ His sister ignored his cry through their bond but Luke could feel her amusement through the link.

“There’s no other way to describe it than the way it is,” Owen responded gruffly. Leia ignored Luke’s reply of ‘ _SEE?!_ ’ through their bond.

“So the Emperor knows that you two are twins? That your father was a Jedi?” Beru’s words were so quiet and calm but they left the room feeling cold.

“Yes.”

“Then you must stay here,” Owen slapped the table. “The harvest is coming up soon, you two can help with that and we’ll help hide you from the Empire and any nosy Stormtroopers.”

Luke refrained from rolling his eyes. “We can’t stay here.”

“And why not?!”

“Uncle Owen,” Luke sighed, looking slightly sad as he met the determined eyes of his Uncle. “My father found me here once; he may not think to come straight-away but he _will_ come one day. Leia and I can’t stay here— we can’t ask that of you. It'll put you at risk.”

“You’re not asking, boy! I’m telling! You and your sister will stay here; end of story.”

“Owen,” Beru reached a hand out to her husband, her voice soft. “You know they can’t stay.”

“They’re _children_ Beru! They’re just sixteen, they can’t go exploring around the Galaxy by themselves. They need someone to care for them and keep them on the right path! Who better than us? They're Shmi's grandchildren and I'll be damned if I let the last of her family run around the Galaxy with no one to look out for them!”

“Luke and Leia are strong children, Owen; they know the right path. I know they'll stay safe. You can’t force them to stay: you know it isn’t in their blood.”

"Damn blood," Owen shot back. "Leaving Tatooine was the worst thing that happened to Shmi's son. Them staying here, safe, would have been what Shmi wanted."

"Owen," there was something hard in Beru's voice and for all her meek exterior, Leia could see that she did have some sort of dominance over her husband. Her voice demanded to be listened too. "Shmi let her son go because she knew it was not his destiny to stay . . . just like it isn't Luke and Leia's either. They belong in the stars; there's too much of their father in them."

Owen growled, a fierce look in his eyes. "That is what I am afraid of! Look at what Anakin did. Look at what Shmi's son became because he left."

A frown flitted across Leia's face and she felt the urge to speak up. "Luke and I are not our father." It felt important to say and Leia knew that Owen was scared that by letting the twins go, it would mean leaving them vulnerable in the way Anakin had been and therefore create another set of terror for the Galaxy to cower from.

Beru reached out, her hand gently placing over her husband's as she continued to speak with a wisdom that seemed beyond her years. There was a sadness in her voice, as if what she was saying was hurting her but she knew it had to be said. It was the truth, no matter how much she wished it not to be. "They's be miserable here if you forced them to stay."

"But they'd be safe."

"Their father's path is not their own, Owen; you said it yourself: their Shmi's grandchildren. I see so much of her in them; I see her kindness and her compassion. I wish they could stay here, too, but I know it is not their destiny. Just like Shmi did with her son, we must let Luke and Leia go. They have good heads on their shoulders and I know they will always do the right thing."

There was a minute of silence with the twins doing nothing but sit awkwardly as Owen and Beru stared at each other, their eyes conveying words and emotions that their mouths could not.

Owen grumbled something under his breath finally, his eyes breaking away from his wife's to glare at the table. When he looked back up, there was something resigned in his features. “You know you always have a place here, with us. If you should ever need a place to hide or a home to stay, our door will be open to you. Always."

Luke seemed to understand how hard it was for his Uncle to say such things and he smiled, feeling grateful to the man. He knew Uncle Owen didn't mean to be possessive but his protective streak was large and sometimes suffocating. “Thank you. Thank the both of you! You sacrificed so much to take me in six years ago and I know you would’ve gone to hell and back for me. I truly am sorry I can’t stay.”

“And I’m so glad I got to meet you!” Leia chipped in. “Luke’s always spoken so kindly of you.”

Owen pushed his chair back, his fists clenched at his sides as he kept his eyes down. There was a sadness and sense of failure ebbing from him and even though Leia didn't know him very well, she could tell he was withdrawing into himself. It seemed like second nature for Owen Lars to try and hide his emotions as he walked towards the exit of the room. Before he could pass through the door, however, Owen paused. He didn’t look back as he spoke.

“Before you leave, you should visit your grandmother’s resting place. It’s just out back, a metre or so from the homestead.”

And then he left the room without another word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist adding in a Lars chapter when the twins went to Tatooine; Owen and Beru deserve more love
> 
> Also I seem to be posting every 3-4 days so I guess that's my posting schedule from now on XD So expect the next chapter on Saturday most likely


	12. A Smuggler's Deal

Visiting their grandmother’s grave and saying goodbye to the Lars’ had been more emotional than either Luke or Leia would’ve liked to admit. There was something so plain about Shmi Skywalker’s tombstone, the name carved with precision like the person who’d done it had cared a lot about the woman who’d died. They didn’t stay long and they didn’t dwell on their dead relative, both knowing time was running short and that if they opened that can of worms, it would take days to emotionally recover.

“Keep your head down,” Leia hissed to her brother as they wandered through Mos Eisley’s spaceport, their pockets jangling with the credits they’d received after selling the Alderaanian ship. It had been a rather short deal, their buyer had been eager to get his hands on the ship and they’d wanted it off their own hands as soon as possible before any Stormtroopers saw and recognised it (no doubt the vessel was now being scouted).

Given Luke’s extensive knowledge about ships and their worth and Leia’s ability to haggle, they’d managed to score a good deal for the blacklisted ship.

“You know, when Obi-Wan brought me here, he said that you’d never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than Mos Eisley’s spaceport.” Luke kept his head down, very aware of the fact neither of them had any hoods to hide their faces and were probably the most wanted people in the Galaxy right now. "He told me to never come here."

Leia scrunched up her nose, dodging over a pile of animal waste that had been left to rot. “Thanks for filling me up with so much confidence about this place.”

“But it’s the best place to go,” Luke backtracked, knowing his words had only made Leia more nervous. “No-one will ask questions.”

“We need to be inconspicuous,” Leia stated the obvious. She was acutely aware of the fact they stood out like a sore thumb. Even though she’d ditched the Princess garb and gratefully taken some of Beru’s clothes, they both still looked like off-worlders out of place in the grubby spaceport. Criminals milled around and Stormtroopers patrolled the area and if they were pulled over, Leia knew it wouldn’t be too difficult to recognise her.

Luke mumbled something about Leia stating the obvious and if she hadn’t wanted to cause a scene, she wouldn’t elbowed him in the ribs. The droids followed behind them, with Artoo letting out quiet beeps every now and then. Leia knew having the droids follow them was doing less to help them blend into the crowd but there was no way they could send Artoo or Threepio away.

Her hand tightened around the blaster hidden in her pocket, the rough fabric of Beru’s clothes (which were slightly too big for Leia yet did the job they were designed for) itched at her skin but she ignored it. Leia’s other pocket jangled with half of their earned credits and she knew if anyone tried to pick trouble with them then they had a lot at stake.

“In here,” Luke suddenly nudged his sister, heading towards an open door of a bar. The second they walked inside they were met with the blaring noise of a band and the loud chatter of the customers as they talked and laughed over drinks. There were people of all different species milling around, some large and some small. No-one paid them any notice as they walked in, all of them too busy drinking in their drunken stupor.

“Oi! We don’t deserve their kind here!” The bartender suddenly yelled, making the twins pause.

“What?”

“Your droids! They’ll have to wait outside. We don’t serve them here,” the bartender waved a hand and a few people laughed as they nursed their drinks.

“You’ll have to wait outside,” Leia apologised to Threepio and Artoo. The astromech made an angry beeping noise. “I know, I know but we’ll find you when we’re done. Okay?”

“Oh I do not like this,” Threepio muttered as he and Artoo turned to leave. Artoo beeped once more. “I know Artoo! That man was so rude!”

“Come on.” Leia grabbed her brother’s arm, attempting to keep her head down as they headed towards the counter. There were no Stormtroopers inside the bar but Leia wouldn’t be surprised if there was a bounty on her head by now and she hated to think she’d walked right into a trap.

“What are you doing?” Luke hissed as they stood at the counter, trying their best to stay out of anyone’s way. There were a few rough characters milling around and given the twins’ short appearances, it would be easy to underestimate them. “We can’t drink!”

Leia rolled her eyes, ignoring Luke as the bartender walked over. “Two of your cheapest Corellia whiskeys,” she kept her chin held high and projected all the confidence Bail had taught her to have.

“Aren’t you two a little young for that?” The human male frowned. He leant on the counter like he was attempting to intimidate the twins and scare them off. Leia could’ve laughed at his poor attempt.

“Do you care?”

“Whatever,” the man huffed before storming off to fix their drinks. “If you want to make bad life choices, that’s up to you.”

“Leia!” Luke hissed, a whiny tinge to his voice. “We can’t drink, we’re underage.”

“Honestly, like that even matters anymore! And we won’t drink, we just need to blend in,” Leia kept her eyes on the bar, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze.

 _‘Don’t look at anyone,’_ she sent to Luke through their bond. _‘Or they’ll have a reason to pick a fight with you.’_

Luke nodded, staring intently at his hands on the counter. The bartender returned a minute later, plopping two frothing drinks down before them. When Leia handed over the credits, he just shook his head. “You should’ve stayed in school kids.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Leia couldn’t help but reply as they moved away from the counter to an unoccupied table near the back. There was dim lighting where they sat and Luke wiped off residue drink from his seat before he sat down.

“I understand why Obi-Wan warned me of this place now.” Everywhere Luke looked there were criminals laughing and slapping their tables; the musicians at the front of the bar continued to play the same song over and over again. The lightsaber tucked away in his pocket dug into his leg and Luke fought the urge to whip it out as a form of protection.

To think that just several days ago he’d been an Imperial Prince, coming and going from a posh school on the Upper Levels of Coruscant, Luke felt a completely different person right now. He was free from the Emperor’s manipulation yet still facing a whole new set of dangers. Any person in this bar could easily kill him and Luke was extremely aware of that.

“We need to find a Captain of a ship,” Leia mumbled, pushing her frothing drink away with no intention to actually drink it. “We need someone trust-worthy who won’t either steal our credits and leave us stranded or kill us the second we board their ship.”

“You want someone trust-worthy yet we came _here_?” Luke grimaced. “I don’t trust anyone in this room as far as I could throw them.”

Leia’s eyes scanned the crowd. There were many clearly untrustworthy types and as she silently observed, she noticed nearly everyone had a weapon of some sort on clear display. Many people were definite bad choices for the twins to pick. But as she used the Force to try and help her judgment and see anyone who was good enough for simple consideration, her view was suddenly obstructed by a rather ugly man.

“Let me buy you a drink girl,” the man’s voice was rough and harsh, much like his appearance. At first glance he seemed to be human in form but his nose was rather snout-like and his left side of his face was disfigured. Coupled with his balding head, Leia knew he was at least three times her age.

“No thanks,” she couldn’t help but upturn her nose. Beside her, Luke stiffened and she knew his hand had gone to the lightsaber, expecting trouble.

“What, you too good for me?” The man huffed a laugh.

“I already have a drink,” Leia to not cringe away from him. The last thing they wanted was a scene. All it would take was this man to be a buffoon and the twins would be arrested in a blink of an eye.

“Let me get you another one.”

“I’m fine but thanks,” her voice was clipped and she looked away, praying to the Force that the man walked away.

“Don’t act all high and mighty with me, girly. You don’t know who you’re talking to. Now, I said: let me buy you—“

“She said no.” Luke ground out the words, his face cold and his voice harsh. Leia knew her brother would stick up for her until the day he died but she wished he wouldn’t pick fights when they were trying to remain inconspicuous. “So leave.”

“Who are you to tell me what to do, short stuff?” The man was clearly drunk and from the way he slurred his word, he’d been drinking for a while. His entire being reeked of alcohol and Leia almost gagged when she smelt his rotten breath.

“We don’t want any trouble,” Leia hoped she could diffuse the situation before the man egged Luke into a fight. Her brother was small and young but he had a lightsaber hidden in his pocket and Leia knew who would win whatever fight occurred. “So please—“

“Trouble?” The man yelled, his words unheard by anyone at a distance due to the music and chatter. A few people around them turned to observe the scene and Leia realised the bartender was watching eagerly, a rather cruel ‘I told you so’ look on his face. “I’ll show you trouble!”

The man went to reach for Luke but he froze when a loud roar sounded from behind him. Leia’s eyes widened when she saw a Wookie tower over the ugly man, roaring once more with much contempt. He’d been standing by the counter when the altercation had broken out and seemed to dislike the man very much because of it.

“Uh, uh— I,” the man swallowed heavily when the Wookie roared yet again, raising his big and hairy hands in a threatening way. For a second, the twins thought the Wookie was going to grab the man but, obviously thinking the same thing, the man rushed off to a different side of the room.

“Thank you,” Leia smiled at the Wookie, sensing nothing but goodness in his heart. The Wookie let out a quieter grumble, nodding his head before returning to the counter to pick up the drinks he’d abandoned.

“That was a close one,” Luke rubbed at his forehead, looking like he’d aged twenty years. “We should probably get out of here soon before that man comes back or more trouble finds us.”

Leia half-ignored Luke’s words as she watched the Wookie walk away from the counter, holding two large pints of alcohol in his hands as he made his way to the other side of the room. Lounging in a booth, waiting for his friend, was a human male with a cocky yet bored expression on his face. Even from the distance, Leia could see the blaster on his hip.

But there wasn’t anything threatening about the man. Apart from any clear nerfherder vibes that Leia picked up from the human male, there was no lingering darkness in his soul. He was a clear criminal, Leia guessed probably a smuggler given the clothes, but he wasn’t like all the others in the bar who had murder in their eyes.

“—eia? Leia, are you even listening to me?” Luke waved a hand in front of her eyes.

Leia blinked, turning back to Luke. “I think I found someone to take us off-world.”

“What? Who?”

She tilted her head in the direction of the man and the Wookie, trying to look as natural as possible instead of directly pointing them out. “That Wookie who helped us is at the back, sitting in a booth. He has a human male with him.”

“You trust those two?” Luke frowned.

“The Wookie did save us,” Leia pointed out. “He didn’t have to yet he did.”

“I don’t like the look of that guy,” Luke blew out some air with a deeper frown. “He looks like a nerf.”

Leia rolled her eyes, “Of course he does, he’s in this bar isn’t he? I don’t sense any maliciousness in him though. They seem like good people, albeit in a bad profession. I’m sure if we wave some credits under their noses, they’ll do anything no-questions asked.”

“Why should I trust your judgement?”

“Because when am I ever wrong?” Leia shot back, fixing Luke with a no-nonsense look.

“I can name a thousand times that you’ve been wrong! What about that time when—“

“But when has my _judgement_ ever been wrong? You know I can sense a bad egg from miles away. That man and the Wookie may not be trust-worthy per se but they’re the closest we’ll get.”

Luke paused, thinking over her words for a second before relenting. As much as Luke wanted to fight it, he did know Leia’s judgement was unparalleled. Her ability to know who to trust and who to not had helped them out many times as kids. “Fine. But if they murder us, then I’m blaming you.”

“I expect nothing less,” she rolled her eyes as they prepared to make their way across the bar to propose a deal with the Wookie and human.

They walked with their heads down as they weaved through the crowds of people, ignoring the whistles and nasty comments directed at them. One man tried to trip Luke but he effortlessly dodged it, walking faster in an attempt to avoid another altercation.

They were almost to where they were heading when Luke found himself face-to-chest with a bounty hunter dressed in green Mandalorian armour. The drink in the bounty hunter's hand sloshed over the side and his voice was robotic and harsh as he placed a hand on Luke’s shoulder, pushing him back. “Oi! Watch it, kid.”

Luke looked like a Bantha in headlights, his eyes wide and unable to string together a proper sentence. “Uh, I’m— sorry! Uh, didn’t, uh, mean— I didn’t see you! Sorry, uh!”

“Watch where you’re going next time or I’ll have your head,” the Mandalorian snarled before moving around Luke and heading towards the exit. He threw his drink at the wall, resulting in a loud crash and a few screams before the door closed behind him.

“Its not smart to make enemies of Boba Fett,” the human male they’d been making their way towards, spoke up. He wasn’t too far away from them now, lounging on the seats like he owned them and drinking from his glass with an air of cockiness. “I should know; Jabba keeps threatening to send him after me if I rack up a debt.”

“I didn’t mean to!” Luke felt his cheeks go red as he glared at the man. In reply, the brown haired man just shrugged.

“Whatever, kid.”

Leia glared at her brother, knowing the casualness she’d been desperately trying to hold onto was now gone. She hated to look like an inexperienced child trying to make a deal that she was out of her depths for but with Luke’s clumsiness, any chances of looking cool and experienced were out the window. Still, Leia kept her chin up as she dragged a chair up to the man and Wookie’s table, crossing her arms.

“Can I help you?” The man frowned, looking at Leia with a lazy sort of annoyance. The Wookie roared but the man just waved his hand, shushing him.

“Actually, you can,” Leia kept her face passive, trying to play the part of someone who knew what she was doing. “I want you to take my brother and I off-world. We have somewhere we need to be and no means of getting there.”

The man paused before he barked out a laugh, shaking his head like Leia had just told a hilarious joke. “Good one, your Highness. Now scram and go home to mommy before you make any more enemies.”

Leia’s nostrils flared and she was about two seconds away from slapping that smirk off the man’s face. Noticing her anger, Luke jumped in, pulling up a chair as well. “What my sister means is that we need a transport off-world and we’ll be very generous in our payment of said-travel.”

This caught the man’s interest and he leaned forward in his seat with a hungry look in his eye. “How generous?”

“Our generosity is in the 10,000 range,” Leia leaned back in her chair with a smug expression. This peaked the man’s interest even more and she could feel his shock through the Force.

“You expect me to believe that two children have 10,000 credits just happening to be laying around? What did you do: steal from Jabba?”

“How and why we have possession of such credits is of no relevance to you,” Leia shot back, her eyes narrowing. “The real question is whether you want them or not. I’m sure there are many in need of such credits who would be willing to do as we asked.”

As Leia was about to stand up from her chair, the man raised his hand to make her pause. “Now let’s not be hasty. I want the credits up front.”

“And I want a Galaxy not ruled by an Empire,” Leia bit back, “unfortunately, we can’t always get what we want.”

“Alright wise-ass,” the man snarled. “Half upfront, half when we reach our destination. And where exactly is it you want to go, your Highness?”

“Dantooine,” Luke lowered his voice in case anyway was listening.

“Dantooine?” The man frowned, looking truly confused. “What in all Corellian hells could you possibly want to go to Dantooine for?”

“Why would we tell you?” Leia rolled her eyes. “I think we should make 'No Questions Asked' as part of this deal.”

The man paused, “If you kids are in some sort of trouble, running away ain’t going to solve your problems. And running to Dantooine sure ain’t.”

“We’ll take your wisdom on board,” Leia crossed her arms as Luke cut in.

“We just need a transport off-world to Dantooine, that’s all. No questions asked and we’ll pay half up front, half there. It’ll only be 4 passengers: myself, my sister and two droids. We don’t want any Imperial entanglements—“

“Ah, well lucky for you: evading Imperial bucket-heads are Chewie and I’s specialty. But _unfortunately_ for you, it’s gonna cost extra.”

Leia’s fists clenched and she felt her anger rise. “Why you scruffy looking nerfherder!”

The man feigned hurt, clutching at his chest. “Who’s scruffy looking?”

‘ _Leia!_ ’ Luke yelled at his sister through their Force bond. ‘ _Don’t insult the man whilst we try and do business!_ ’

‘ _He’s just so . . . infuriating!_ ’

“Deal,” Luke quickly interjected before the deal could be lost. No matter how angry Leia seemed to be now, he knew her senses from before had been correct. This man’s moral compass may be slightly skewed but his heart was in the right place (for the most part). “We can pay half upfront and another 10,000 when we reach Dantooine.”

‘ _15,000? Luke, we don’t have that much! And the Rebellion won’t cover the costs of some smuggler’s efforts_!’

‘ _Have a little faith,_ ’ Luke shot back. ‘ _He won’t do it otherwise_.’

“How soon do you need to leave?” The man still seemed skeptical but the deal was practically made. Luke knew he wasn’t going to say no to 15,000 credits of easy money.

“How about now?” Leia replied. She fished into her pocket, bringing out the 5,000 she’d been carrying whilst Luke had the rest.

“Very well kiddos, you have yourself a deal. The crew of the Millennium Falcon welcome you in your efforts to fly to the middle of nowhere. I’ll be your Captain Han Solo and this is my First-mate, Chewbacca.”

The Wookie, Chewbacca, let out a loud roar which sounded rather friendly despite being unable to understand him. She couldn’t help but smile at him, nodding her head.

“And you are?” The man, Han Solo, tilted his head at the twins with an expectant look.

Luke and Leia shared a look, wondering what they could say. They didn’t have to say the truth, in fact they could make up two fake names and leave it at that. They doubted Han Solo cared enough, as long as he had something to call them it wasn’t any deeper than that. But there was something so important about a name, about an introduction, that had them pause for a second.

Finally, Leia squared her shoulders and set Han Solo with a proud expression. “Leia and Luke Skywalker.”

* * *

As Darth Vader bent his knee in-front of his Master, he was struck with the thought that this was not what he’d pictured sixteen years ago when he’d joined the Dark Side. He’d believed back then, when the Jedi’s treachery had been fresh and their threat had been quickly snubbed out, that Palpatine would’ve been long gone by now. Vader should be where his Master now sat: on the throne that ruled the Galaxy.

But thanks to Kenobi, that dream was left as just that: a dream.

It was unfortunate that Vader was no longer strong enough to defeat his Master. But when Luke had been brought into his life, Vader’s dreams of a Galactic take-over had evolved to include his son. He’d hoped that before Luke even reached full maturity, Palpatine would’ve been cut down and they’d be ruling the Galaxy as Father and Son.

Yet it seemed where Kenobi had destroyed his original dream, Princess Leia Organa had obliterated his new one.

“I believe by now you have heard the news of the boy’s treason, Lord Vader?” Palpatine growled, his disfigured hands clutching the arms of his throne like he was trying to snap them. “And the involvement of the Alderaanian Princess?”

Anger coursed through Vader’s bones at his Master’s casual disownment of Luke. Just a few days ago, his Master had been training his son to overthrow Vader as his apprentice. And now Luke was merely ‘ _the boy_ ’.

“Yes, my Master,” Vader slowly rose to his full height and his breathing sounded louder than normal. There was something harsh about the respirator in the coldness of the Emperor’s Throne Room. “I believe my son to be mislead; he is dangerously naive and still very much a child who trusts too easily. Although, the truth behind Organa’s involvement is unknown to me.”

The Emperor paused like he were deep in thought. His deathly pale fingers released their tight grip on the throne’s arms, moving to gently thrum instead.

“I recently discovered indisputable evidence that links Senator Organa and the young Princess to the Rebellion. I sent one of your Inquisitors, Lord Vader, to deal with their treachery since you were unavailable. It seems the Princess slipped their grasp.”

“And the Senator?”

“News of Senator Organa’s death was announced a few days ago. The people of Alderaan have not taken it well.”

“So the Princess is a working agent for the Rebel Alliance and her involvement in all of this was to cause a stir in the Empire by manipulating my son.” Vader clenched his fists together and the Dark Side swirled around him. Did the Rebellion have no shame? It was simply another reason for why those warmongers needed to be squashed.

“I believe they sent the young Princess for she is an age mate to the boy,” Palpatine agreed, sneering slightly. “It is easier to trust a peer.”

“You need not worry, my Master,” Vader spoke with full confidence. “I will find Luke and I will bring him back to the safety of our Empire.”

The Emperor’s voice was icy. Underneath his hood, a snarl spread across his scarred face. “I fear the boy may be lost to us now, Lord Vader.”

His anger doubled at his Master’s words. Luke would return if Vader willed it! The Rebellion may have manipulated his son but Vader was Luke’s father and he knew the boy would listen to him above all else.

“That cannot be the case, Master. If you allow me to find Luke then I will return him as the loyal boy I know him to be.”

“Your . . . affection blinds you to the truth, Lord Vader. The boy is a traitor.”

“My son is not—“

“ _Your_ son?” The Emperor roared and the full force of his anger flared in Vader’s mind. “He is no son of yours, my friend. The boy has denounced the Empire— the very Government you helped to create and have supported all these years. He has betrayed you and I.”

Vader felt his desperation increasing as Palpatine’s anger combatted his own. The very outcome of this argument would determine Luke’s fate and call it stubbornness, but Vader refused to leave winning. He refused to let Luke’s naivety be the cause of his son’s demise.

This was simply a blip in Luke’s story of greatness for the Empire.

“He is a child, my Master!”

“He is a _threat_!” Palpatine spat. “The boy has the potential to destroy all we have worked for! If his power is acknowledged by our enemies then he could be trained against us!”

“I will not allow that to happen, my Master. I will find Luke and I will train him in the Dark Side myself.”

The Emperor paused yet again. “You really believe he can be turned?”

“If I will it, he will do as I command.”

Palpatine leaned back in his throne, his eyes narrowing under his hood as his fingers started to thrum once again. “I do not know if you are aware, Lord Vader, but in the recent weeks I have been observing the boy. I’ve been attempting to train him and see if he had potential to become a powerful Sith. I wanted to hone his anger and the darkness inside of him.”

The Emperor’s voice was harsh. “I see what happened several days to be a test. A test to which the boy failed.”

There was something manipulative and slow in the Emperor’s voice when he carried on. He spoke almost like he had when he’d been Chancellor of the Republic, using his cool tones to manipulate a young Anakin. “Surely you must see that we cannot allow for the boy to live? He poses too much of a threat to the security of our Empire. He must be killed.”

“Luke is a threat, yes,” Vader decided to play his cards differently. Outright arguing with Palpatine would not work. He clenched his fists harder, feeling his glove threaten to tear. “But the power to which makes him a threat will also make him the Empire’s greatest asset. Such power should not be squandered so lightly— not before we’ve had the chance to hone it ourselves.”

The Emperor’s voice drawled. “You seem to be missing the point, Lord Vader. The boy is no longer in our possession— his power is gone. If any renegade Jedi find him then all our hopes for the boy’s future will be vanished.”

“Was I not a Jedi Padawan for over a decade?” Vader cut in, pushing his point further. “And have I not proven myself to be a loyal ally of the Empire? No Jedi my son crosses paths with will be able to destroy the bond of Father and Son. Luke will side with me— his biology wills it so.”

The Emperor hummed, tapping his pale fingers on his throne. “I do not wish for you to be disappointed if things do not go your way, my friend. As I recall, you were . . . most displeased when your wife refused to stand by your side. And we all know how that disappointment played out.”

_Stop! Stop now! Come back. I love you!_

_LIAR!_

Under his mask, Vader squeezed his eyes closed, ignoring the pain the action caused. He could still see the hurt that had been in Padme’s eyes, the complete and utter betrayal written across her face as she’d clutched at her throat. But Vader pushed down his guilt.

Now was not the time.

Luke’s life still hung in the balance and Vader knew things would be far easier if he had the Emperor’s blessing to find his son. His Master could issue a man-hunt, making Luke the most wanted person in the entire Galaxy. Bounty hunters would never cease to track him down. The entire Imperial navy would never relent. The Emperor truly saw Luke as the greatest threat the Empire has ever faced and if Vader didn’t convince him now, he would not relax until he had the boy’s head.

His son would be hunted down like an animal and the last piece of Padme that Vader had (and his chance for a take-over of the Imperial throne) would be gone.

“Luke will not fail me. He will not fail you, my Master.” Vader’s voice echoed around the Throne Room. His deep baritones made the room feel gloomier.

Just when Vader thought the Emperor was going to refuse his offer, the elder man paused and crooned in an eerie way. “Hmm. Very well Lord Vader, you have managed to convince me for now. Go attempt to remind the boy of his loyalties. By any chance, hopefully he will be back in our control before our other greatest weapon is revealed to the Galaxy. But heed my warnings: should the boy slip through your fingers or present himself as any sort of threat, he must be killed. Do you understand me, Lord Vader. You know what I expect of you?”

Killing had always been second nature to Vader; bringing his lightsaber down on the innocent and the youthful had never been a problem before. He’d massacred countless Jedi children during the night of the Purge and he’d fought a man who’d been like his father and brother rolled into one in order to protect his Empire.

Vader was sure that, should the situation arise, he would not hesitate to do what must be done.

(He ignored the youthful voice of a man long dead that argued with him in his mind.)

“Yes, my Master.”

He was about to turn to exit, a sense of satisfaction brewing in his chest at winning Luke’s case, when the Emperor spoke again. All Vader wanted to do was begin his plan to locate his son but the Emperor’s words made him pause.

“Oh and Lord Vader, if you should cross paths with Princess Organa, be sure to not hesitate in providing justice. Her treasonous ways deserve to be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.”

Vader nodded his head, knowing there was nothing that he desired more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAN AND CHEWIE XD
> 
> I'm aiming to have these two in about the next few chapters. 
> 
> As much as I love Han and Chewie, they won't be regulars in this fic because of the age gap between Han/Leia. Han's canonically 10 or something years older and the twins are only 16 in this fic (opposed to being 22 in ESB when Han/Leia become a thing).


	13. Attack

Darth Vader was in the middle of attempting meditation to try and pin-point the location of his son when his comlink went off. As a man high in the Imperial hierarchy, he had several frequencies to help prioritise some calls over others. So it was with great confusion that Vader realised the incoming caller was one the bounty hunters he frequently worked with to help track down Rebel threats.

“Fett,” Vader nodded in greeting, the familiar helmeted head of Boba Fett appearing before him. The camo-green of the Mandalorian armour was fading in some places and white scratches littered the once pristine helmet. The bounty hunter’s uniform was not easy on the eyes yet Vader had worked closely with him for years and trusted the man to always pull through.

“Lord Vader I just had the most interesting run in.”

“Whatever Rebel scum you’ve come across has little interest to me right now,” Vader squeezed one of his fists, feeling the urge to crush the comlink in his hand and end the transmission right then and there. Luke was still missing! There was no time for such games.

“Really?” Fett tilted his head and Vader had the impression that should the helmet be taken off, there would be a smug smile on his face. “Because mere minutes ago I ran into your son.”

It was like all the air left his lungs; his respirator hitched and it took a second for Vader to get back in control of his breathing. “You better not be playing games with me, bounty hunter.”

“No games here, my Lord. I’m sure you can understand my surprise when I’m nursing a good drink at a seedy bar and the Princess of Alderaan somehow walks in. The bounty on her head is larger than what I’ve seen in a while. Yet when I was preparing to grab her, I realised her sidekick was in fact your son.”

“There is no bounty on my son’s head.”

“No,” Fett shook his head with a lot of cockiness. “The official statement claims the boy was kidnapped. However, I now know that not to be the case. I can bring the boy and the Princess in right now if you so desire?”

This seemed to be a lot easier than Vader had first anticipated. He’d thought it would take days before he heard a whisper about Luke’s whereabouts or managed to connect with his son during meditation and find a vague location of where the boy had gone. He hadn’t anticipated his son and the Princess to be stupid enough to walk right into the hands of criminals.

Having Luke be captured by a bounty hunter wasn’t ideal. Vader knew Fett was good at his job and Luke would be left unharmed but the man was still a bounty hunter and not known to be gentle. Yet extreme circumstances called for extreme measures.

“Where did you find my son?” His curiosity peaked. Where had Luke gone?

“I found them at the Mos Eisley Spaceport.”

So Luke had returned to Tatooine. It made sense in a way and Vader could’ve mentally slapped himself for not thinking of that poor excuse of a planet sooner. He’d found Luke there over 5 years ago; it had been the only home the boy had known before Coruscant.

Yet something about the fact Boba Fett had found Luke on Tatooine didn’t sit right with Vader. (Aside from the fact his son had been seen in a bar which Vader knew they’d be having words about when Luke returned home— honestly, Luke knew he was too young for alcohol).

He couldn’t imagine Princess Leia being the mastermind behind the Tatooine visit. Vader doubted that a Princess of a Core world would even know about the existence of such backwater planets as Tatooine. Run by the Hutts, it wasn’t the kind of place respectable people frequented.

The more Vader thought about it, the more convinced he became that the idea of going to Tatooine must have come solely from Luke. Which meant his son truly was aiding the Rebel Princess and believed whatever manipulated lies she’d spread.

He needed Luke to return soon before Princess Organa managed to exploit the boy further.

“My son is not to be harmed, do you understand Fett? And the Princess is to be brought in alive— I have plans for her myself.”

Fett seemed to understand for he bowed his head. “You know my price.” He stated before the transmission went out.

Vader leaned back, putting his comlink down. It felt too good to be true that the bounty hunter had crossed paths with his son. In the matter of days, Luke would once again be in his grasp and Organa would face punishment for her crimes.

It was almost a shame that the young Princess had turned out the way she did. Whilst Vader had never personally met her, he’d seen the work she’d done with her father and the Holonet was normally not unkind to her. She reminded him a lot of another optimistic woman who had high-hopes for the Galaxy and believed in true justice for all. And whilst Leia Organa may not have the same tact as Vader’s late wife, he knew Padme would’ve praised Bail for the daughter he’d raised.

But even those thoughts couldn’t quell the anger that raised in Vader when he thought of what the Princess had done to him— to Luke. The girl had stolen his son. She’d corrupted Luke with Rebel propaganda and she’d taken advantage of his naivety to instil distrust towards the Empire. Leia Organa was young but Vader knew she wasn’t stupid and she’d known exactly what points to press to put doubt in Luke’s head.

The security footage Vader had received from the school had no audio but it was clear as day that Organa had been yelling at Luke, stating lie after lie in an attempt to shake the ranks of the Empire by manipulating Vader’s son. It was truly pitiful that the Rebel Alliance had resorted to stealing children. And hiring other delusional and wrong-led children to do their bidding.

Luke had called Leia Organa his friend in the recorded message he’d sent the day he’d left Coruscant but Vader couldn’t see how. They’d never met before! They’d never come into contact until the incident at the school. Was it truly Luke’s naivety that led the boy to believe he and the Princess were friends?

But as Vader’s thoughts floated back to Boba Fett, he knew he’d get his answers soon. Luke would fill in the gaps that Vader couldn’t rationalise and then when his son denounced the Rebellion, Vader would prove to his enemies that no-one could sever the bond between Father and Son.

And with his son safely returned, they’d bring down Palpatine and make the Galaxy to be just how they wanted, exactly how Vader had long dreamed.

* * *

The _Millennium Falcon_ turned out to be, in Luke and Leia’s opinion, a piece of junk. It was large and bulky in shape with an eyesore of an exterior. Han Solo, however, seemed to be extremely proud of the bucket of bolts and at every opportunity the twins took to question and insult the ship, he shot them down with statistics of the Falcon’s hyperdrive capability.

‘ _I can’t believe we sold a high-end Alderaanian vessel to travel on this piece of junk_ ,’ Luke crossed his arms as he spoke to his sister through their bond. They were standing to the side of the ship, watching as Han Solo ran around to prepare the bucket of bolts for the journey.

‘ _It sure doesn’t look like much_ ,’ Leia agreed. ‘ _But it is fast. Han says we’ll be on Dantooine in only a day or so; you know that would’ve been doubled on our old ship.'_

Luke sighed, knowing he couldn’t disagree but also not being happy about it either. In the end, Luke let his frustrations go; he wanted to get off Tatooine as fast as possible and if Han’s eyesore of a ship was the only way to go, then Luke would take it. He may not be silent about it but he’d take it.

“Oi! Chewie! Give me a hand, would you!” Han yelled to the Wookie, holding some sort of device in his hand to make some last minute repairs. It wasn’t very relaxing to see the Captain of your chosen vessel fixing up the ship right before take-off but there weren’t very many options for the twins to choose from and Han Solo seemed like the less likely person to kill them the second they hitchhiked off Tatooine.

The Wookie roared in reply from around the other side of the ship and it didn’t take a translator to know he was saying no.

Luke rolled his eyes, moving from the corner he and Leia were standing in to go help the man. Leia watched as her brother, a rather good mechanic for someone his age, helped the smuggler in his repairs. Han seemed rather skeptical of Luke’s help but once the boy proved he knew what he was doing, Leia watched as they worked in conjunction.

“Mistress Leia, I must say I do not like this plan one bit!” Threepio piped up, voicing his concerns for the millionth time.

“I know Threepio,” Leia sighed, rubbing at her temples as a headache started to bloom. There was something nagging in her mind. Artoo whistled loudly in agreement with the golden droid but Leia just patted his dome. “We’ll be fine you guys; Han Solo is a nerfherder but he’s not a cold hearted killer.”

Artoo beeped like he wasn’t so sure and Leia understood his skepticism. Her droids didn’t have the Force— they couldn’t sense the good in Han which she knew his job and attitude tried to hide. He wasn’t innocent, far from it, but Leia knew that with the promise of 10,000 more credits being waved under his nose, Solo was more or less trust-worthy.

A shiver ran up Leia’s spine and judging from the way Luke seemed to freeze too, she could tell he’d felt it as well.

_Danger! Danger!_

The feeling of being followed had stuck with Leia as the twins had gone with Han Solo and Chewbacca to where the _Millennium Falcon_ had been stationed. It had felt like eyes were training her as they’d walked, doing their best to remain inconspicuous and keeping their heads down. When Leia had brought it up to Luke, her brother had just shrugged off her concerns.

But now Leia knew why she’d been so on edge.

She felt, rather than saw, the stun blast that was aimed at her. At the last second, Leia dodged it, falling heavily to the ground right on her bad shoulder. Threepio let out a loud yell and Artoo shrieked but there was no time to stop and comfort them for another stun blast came straight after the first.

Leia had to roll in order to avoid it.

“Fett!” Han yelled from somewhere behind her and suddenly there were blaster bolts being shot from the smuggler to where the bounty hunter now stood, in all his green-armour glory. Boba Fett turned his weapon onto Han but this time, he shot with blaster bolts and not on stun. Leia realised that the bounty hunter’s aim here was not to kill either her or Luke; he wanted them alive.

“Leia!” Luke was suddenly at her side, helping to pull her up. He ignored Threepio yelling about how they were going to die, stating that he’d known all along their plan had been bad. “Threepio, shut up!”

Both Han and Chewbacca were shooting at the bounty hunter still, hiding behind the Falcon as they dodged Boba Fett’s shots. One of Han’s blaster bolts hit the bounty hunter on the shoulder but it just bounced off the Mandalorian armour, leaving nothing but a white mark and no lasting damage.

“Get on the ship!” Han roared as Chewbacca suddenly became more aggressive in his shooting. They were moving closer to Fett to help give the twins a bit of space to run without being in the middle of the blaster fire. In retaliation, the bounty hunter ignited his jetpack, soaring a few feet into the sky as he continued to shoot.

They were about to run to the _Millennium Falcon_ when a cable shot out of Fett’s wrist and wrapped around Luke’s leg, making him fall to the floor with a loud thud. Artoo let out another shriek, moving forwards with a cutter to set Luke free when the cable retracted back into the armour and Luke was pulled with it, going towards the bounty hunter into the air. Han and Chewbacca’s firing increased slightly and the smuggler yelled something at Leia that she didn’t hear.

“Ahh!” Luke thrashed in the air, trying in vain to reach upwards to disconnect the cable from his leg. Gravity was not on his side, however, and Luke kept moving higher and higher up in the air, his head hanging down towards the ground.

(“Oh no Master Luke! Master Luke is going to die! Oh pray to the Maker, no!”)

Leia pulled out her own blaster to start shooting when she noticed something fall from Luke’s pocket down to the ground below him. Artoo let out a series of beeps that Leia could only translate to being something along the lines of: _Look! Look! Look!_

Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber.

“Luke!” Leia raced to the weapon, her fingers curling around the cold metal. Boba Fett seemed to be retreating now, Luke still dangling upside down from the cable attached to the bounty hunter’s wrist. It seemed with or without Leia, Fett was determined to take Luke with him. “Catch!”

The lightsaber was thrown up into the air and Luke caught it deftly with his right hand. The blue blade lit up brilliantly and for a second, everyone seemed to pause as he used it to slash through the cable wrapped around his foot. Luke screamed as he started falling to the ground.

“Chewie!” Han yelled, bringing everyone back to the present moment. “Go start up the ship!”

Leia reached out a hand, trying to slow her brother’s descent to the ground. _Slow down._ Luke’s fall wasn’t as cushioned as it should’ve been but he hit the floor with considerably less force, only managing to knock the air out of him rather than cause permanent damage. Artoo whistled loudly, rolling over to Luke’s side with worry.

“Get on the ship!” Han roared once again, ducking to avoid a blaster shot fired at him. “Go!”

Leia helped her brother to his feet, noticing he was still slightly winded. The Falcon hummed, raising above the ground as Chewbacca prepared it for a quick take-off. Han followed close behind the twins as they made their way to the ship, shooting at the bounty hunter to cover their flank. Threepio and Artoo followed closely, with the golden droid still yelling about dying.

It was just when one of Han’s shots made contact with Boba Fett’s jetpack, causing the man to flail in the air suddenly that they had a clear opportunity to get on the ship safely without being shot in the back. The ramp to the _Millennium Falcon_ retreated and Han Solo didn’t hesitate to run to the cockpit but instead of following, Leia helped Luke towards the communal area.

“Are you hurt?” She asked as Luke flopped down on the leather seats, groaning loudly. One arm was wrapped around his torso and his face was pinched. Artoo whistled sadly, bumping his dome into Luke’s legs like he was attempting a hug.

“Yes I’m hurt! You try falling a few feet in the air and not get hurt, Leia,” Luke snapped. His free hand rested on Artoo’s dome. They both ignored Threepio’s continued panicking.

“I tried to cushion your fall!”

“Well my bruised ribs are a testament to just how _well_ you did!”

Leia rolled her eyes; trying not to be irritated at Luke's attitude. Arguing was not what they needed right now. “I guess we now know the answer as to whether the Empire put a bounty on our heads,” she sighed, taking a seat beside her brother.

Luke was about to reply when the _Millennium Falcon_ suddenly jolted, like a powerful blast had hit it. The ship lurched, sharply twisting left, causing both Luke and Leia to fall to the floor. Another blast hit the ship, causing everything to judder. “Oh my! We’re going to die!” Threepio bellowed but Leia reached up and powered the droid down before he could blow a circuit with his worrying.

“I don’t think that bounty hunter admitted defeat,” Leia’s eyes were wide as she helped Luke up off the floor, nearly tumbling over again when the ship tilted a narrow right. It was only a short journey to the cockpit but with every few steps they took, they were thrown into the opposite walls as the _Millennium Falcon_ constantly tipped and turned to avoid the incoming attacker.

In the cockpit Han Solo was sitting in the pilot chair, his hands wrapped around the controls as he pressed for his ship to move faster. The bounty hunter was on their tail, shooting continuously at them and causing Solo to pull risky manoeuvres. Chewbacca roared angrily when one shot hit them and a loud beeping sound filled the space around them. Something red blinked in the corner of Leia’s eye.

“I told you not to make enemies of Boba Fett!” Han growled as the twins entered the cockpit, sitting in the seats behind Solo and the Wookie. The beeping sound got louder and louder, sounding very much like a warning. “Your new friend just damaged our hyperdrive!”

Chewbacca roared once again, his loud voice making the twins jump. He stood up from the co-pilot’s seat but Han shook his head, taking one hand off the controls to try and stop the Wookie from leaving.

“I need a co-pilot Chewie! We can fix the hyperdrive once we get that bucket-head off our tail!”

“I can be your co-pilot,” Luke jumped in immediately, nodding his head enthusiastically. All looks of pain were gone from his face as he tried to convince Han he could help. He leaned forward in his seat and Artoo whistled at his side, like he was trying to help convince Han as well.

Han made a sharp left turn and Leia had to dig her nails into her own seat in order to avoid toppling over. “Nice try kiddo, aren’t you just 10?”

Luke glared at the elder man, trying to not rise to the bait. “I’m a good pilot!”

“Yeah, says who?”

Luke was about to reply back with a sassy remark of: _my father, that’s who! You might’ve heard of him, Lord Vader: best pilot in the Galaxy, has won thousands of space battles and is known for his superior flying manoeuvres. . ._

But then Luke paused. It wasn’t like he could just casually remark on who his father was to Han. Who knew how the smuggler would react? Would he take advantage of the situation and hold Luke hostage for ransom? Would he drop the twins off at the nearest spaceport and steal their money? Luke couldn’t even blame the man if he did; if Luke were Han, he wouldn’t want anything to do with Vader’s kids.

So Luke settled with crossing his arms and pouting, knowing he looked like a whiny kid and not even caring as he did so. “A few people have told me,” he grumbled. “And I have my license.”

Han spared Luke a glance, “You say that like it’s meant to impress me. What’s a license?”

Another blast hit the Falcon and Chewie roared, pushing past the twin’s seats to go make the repairs he knew needed to be done. “Chewie!” Han yelled but the Wookie just ignored him. “Fine, today is your lucky day kid.”

Luke looked like a child who’d been told Christmas came early as he took up the co-pilot’s seat, his hands moving over the controls with ease. Han pulled sharply left, causing Artoo to shriek as he went careening into the opposite wall. Leia grunted, knowing simply out-flying the bounty hunter wouldn’t do the trick. They had only just broken out of Tatooine’s atmosphere and even in the cold of space, the bounty hunter gained on them.

“Does this thing have any guns?” Leia yelled when the ship juddered once again. The bounty hunter was practically on them by now.

“The _Millennium Falcon_ is equipped with state-of-the art guns, Your Highness.” Han Solo’s voice was clipped and when he spared Leia a glance, he looked slightly incredulous. “Aren’t you a little prissy to know your way around a gun?”

“Wanna bet?” Leia scoffed, wasting no time in racing out of the cockpit.

“I sure hope she knows what she’s doing,” Han murmured, flying the ship around in a loop-de-loop for a second to try and get the bounty hunter off their tail.

“Don’t worry, she does,” Luke replied, feeling like a big shot as he pulled back on the controls to try and dodge an incoming shot. He’d been his father’s co-pilot in many flying adventures but this was his first time fighting off a bounty hunter.

Leia raced back the way she’d come, noticing Threepio still powered down by the wall. There was a ladder by the communal area that she guessed had to lead to the gunner cockpit. She was just climbing down to the cockpit below when the ship suddenly turned upside down and Leia let out a small scream, her fingers tightening around the ladder when she threatened to fall.

 _‘Would you mind warning me next time you turn the ship upside down?’_ She angrily sent to her brother when the ship righted itself and she no longer felt like she were about to plummet to her death.

 _‘It wasn’t me!’_ Luke shot back a second later through their bond. _‘Han did it!’_

Leia rolled her eyes.

Finally making it down the ladder, Leia wasted no time in preparing the guns. Being raised as a Princess, all of this was new to her. As a pacifist planet, Alderaan didn’t have in-built weapons on most of their crafts— there were a few exceptions but Leia had never personally been taught how to use such weapons.

_‘Uh Luke, what am I meant to do?’_

Her brother grunted through their bond and she could feel his frustrations as Boba Fett continued to gain on them. Through the window in the gunner cockpit, all Leia could see was the blankness of space. She wondered if the bounty hunter would tell his employers that Luke and Leia had accidentally perished if he managed to blow the entirety of the Falcon up.

But from the way most of Fett’s blasts were aimed at the engines, Leia knew the aim was to immobilise them.

 _‘I’m a little busy right now!’_ Luke yelled back through their bond.

Leia ignored him, focusing on the controls before her and sending the mental image off to her brother. She knew Luke would help even if he complained about it. _‘How do I turn this thing on?’_

_‘There’s a switch on your left, flick it up and the controls should power on. Then put on the headset so you’re linked to our comm controls.’_

Leia did as he told her, following all of his instructions as he quickly explained what to do and how to do it. Before she knew it, she was navigating the guns like a professional, turning them around so they faced where Boba Fett’s ship was following them.

“Are you sure you’ve got this handled, Your Highness?” Han’s voice crackled through her headphones, grating on Leia’s nerves yet again. She knew Han Solo didn’t know the truth that he had a Princess currently on his ship and she’d been called Your Highness a million times in the last 6 years but there was something about the way Han said it that seemed so disrespectful and mocking.

Probably because he was trying to be disrespectful and mocking.

“Don’t worry about me laserbrain,” Leia shot back, her thumbs resting over the trigger for the guns. “You should focus on flying the ship.”

Han scoffed in retaliation but didn’t comment further.

Fett’s ship lined up with the scopes on the computer in front of Leia but each time she shot just when he was in range, they missed my miles. Her frustration grew every single time the red blasts missed their mark.

“If you’re going to man the guns, Your Highness, you may as well hit the target!”

 _Stupid Nerf_ , Leia thought to herself as she shot at Fett once again. And missed.

“Leia!” Luke yelled over the comms rather than through their bond. She was so used to them having private conversations when in the company of others that she was rather shocked to his voice not in her head. “Trust your instincts!”

A memory from a long time ago drifted in Leia’s conscious mind and like being submerged under water, the sounds of Han and Luke faded away. She could remember standing in a bright green field, the smell of grass filing her nose and the faint sound of water rushing from not too far away.

Obi-Wan was kneeling before her, his face looking much like he had in her nightmare only a day ago. Grey was starting to grow from his temples and there were a few wrinkles by the corners of his eyes. _“You need to trust your instincts, Leia,”_ his voice was soft and she could feel a warm hand press down on her shoulder. _“Feel the Force around you; trust it.”_

 _“But what if my instincts are wrong?”_ Leia’s voice was drowned in youth, her childish vocals sounding scared and unsure.

Obi-Wan smiled, the crinkles by his eyes deepening ever so slightly. _“If you allow the Force to guide you, then your instincts will never fail you.”_

“—ness? Han Solo to Your Highness! Did you pass out down there?”

It was like breaking to the surface from underwater, all the sounds returning at once and Leia blinked, her fingers tightening around the controls to the gun she was manning. Naboo faded from her mind’s eye and she glared out into the vastness of space before her.

Trust your instincts.

Leia ignored the computer before her as she let her instincts take over in finding the bounty hunter’s ship. She turned a little to the left, pointing the guns up slightly as she ignored Han’s voice through the comms. Leia paused and waited.

_Now!_

She fired two shots, the red blasts shooting out the gun at quick speed and making contact with Fett’s ship just like she’d wanted. They hit the right engine of the bounty hunter’s vessel, making it explode in a cloud of red smoke.

Pride filled her chest and Leia thought she hadn’t done bad for an Alderaanian Princess. The sounds of cheering filled her headphones and she beamed when both Han and Luke congratulated her.

“Not shabby, Your Highness!” Leia could picture Han’s impressed smirk as she turned off the guns and climbed back up the ladder. The second her feet touched the floor of the communal room, she found herself engulfed in a rather hairy hug.

Chewbacca roared, tilting his head back slightly as he wrapped his massive arms around Leia’s entire body, his strength managing to lift her feet off the ground as he congratulated her.

“Okay! Okay!” Leia felt slightly crushed by his hug but she couldn’t help but smile at the Wookie’s kind sentiment. “No thanks are necessary!”

“Chewie!” Han’s voice echoed from the cockpit, having heard the Wookie’s roars. “You fix that hyperdrive yet?”

With her feet back down on the ground, Leia watched as Chewbacca roared yet again before racing off back to the cockpit where both Luke and Han were still sitting, their hands firmly on the controls.

“Okay, calm down you big lug!” Han rolled his eyes. “You didn’t need to get so snappy. A simple yes would do.” His words received another roar from the Wookie which Han ignored.

Leia strapped herself back into the seat she’d been occupying earlier, patting Artoo’s dome when the astromech beeped at her side. Han pressed a few buttons, setting their course for Dantooine when he turned to Luke with a small smile.

“You wanna do the honours, kid?”

Luke’s face lit up and Leia could feel his excitement through their bond. “You mean it?”

Han just rolled his eyes once more, gesturing to the lever that sat beside them which would pull them into hyperspace. Without waiting a second longer, Luke squared his shoulders and wrapped his fingers around the lever.

“Prepare for light-speed in 3, 2, 1—“

Luke pulled back the lever and the Millennium Falcon paused for a second before shooting forwards in that familiar pull of hyperspace. The stars around them blurred into one as the blue and white haze the twins had become so accustomed to, surrounded them.

And just like that, they were gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a few chapters ahead in terms of writing and they seem to be getting longer and longer, I hope that's okay :) Longer chapters means less waiting for updates :)


	14. A Space Trip of Tension

Even after 5 hours of being in hyperspace, the excitement and anxiety of Boba Fett’s attack still had the twin’s adrenaline pumping. They were currently in the communal area, resting after the rather taxing ordeal. Han Solo and Chewbacca kept moving in and out of the room, fixing all the damages the poor Falcon had sustained and making comments underneath their breath (in Han’s case at least).

“And then the Bounty Hunter started shooting at us!” Luke spoke with dramatic effect, making _pew pew_ noises with his mouth as he relayed the whole ordeal to Threepio. The droid had been recently powered up, listening to the twin’s story with unhidden horror.

“Oh how horrible!” The protocol droid wailed. “What ever did you do Master Luke?” Artoo let out a loud string of beeps but Threepio shushed him. “Hush Artoo, Master Luke is speaking!”

“Well,” Luke dove back into his story, making everything that had happened sound ten times worse. It was like a full show, for Luke's exaggeration included sound effects and a lot of hand gestures. There were several times he deliberately changed certain details in order to sound cooler. Leia just sat back with her arms crossed, unsure about whether she should laugh or be annoyed.

On one hand, it was funny to see Threepio get so riled up yet on the other hand, Leia couldn't help but wonder if her brother should become a writer on a Holo-drama channel. 

“And then Leia fired two shots— _pew pew_ — and they hit the Bounty Hunter’s ship! And it went **BOOM**!” Luke moved his arms to imitate an explosion. Threepio, if it were even possible for a droid, looked absolutely terrified.

“Oh my! I must say I’m glad that I missed that! Well done, Mistress Leia!”

“I hope you told your golden friend about all the amazing piloting I did,” Han Solo walked into the room with his usual cockiness, setting a tool down on the side as he took a seat in a chair opposite the twins. Just like he had at Mos Eisley's bar, he seemed to stretch out as far as he could, like an arrogant king upon his throne.

“We wouldn’t want to inflate your ego even more,” Leia shot back, crossing her arms. There was something about Han Solo's blasé attitude that just grated on her nerves.

Han leaned forward in his hair, pressing a hand to his heart as he feigned upset. “My _ego_? What ego? I’m a humble man, Your Highness.”

Leia scoffed. “The day you become a humble man will the day Jabba the Hutt loses weight.”

“May I remind you, Your Highness, that it was my _expert_ piloting skills that saved all of our asses back there?” Han's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he regarded Leia, a frown starting to grow on his face.

Leia raised an eyebrow, matching Solo’s cool attitude. “Really? Cause from my perspective, Fett was pretty much winning until I shot those blasts which immobilised him.”

“Hey! We wouldn’t have even been in that mess if you two hadn’t pissed off a Bounty Hunter like you did. And don’t forget you’re on _my_ ship, Your Worshipfulness.” Han glared at her but Leia sensed his threats were pretty much empty. She thought it was probably good Han believed Fett was after them because Luke had spilled his drink and not because they were wanted by the Empire.

Sensing the tension in the room, Luke cleared his throat.

“So, uh, Han, where did you learn to pilot like that?”

Han leaned back in his chair, kicking his feet out as his previous dark mood vanished. “Taught myself, kid. Didn’t you say you were a pretty good pilot yourself? You did good out there as my co-pilot.”

Luke beamed, making Leia roll her eyes at how easily he was buttered up. Honestly, someone could punch Luke in the face but then hand him a handkerchief to clean up the blood and Luke would be adamant that person was nice at their core. “Really? I always wanted to be a pilot! It’s been my dream ever since I was a kid.”

“Well you certainly have a hack for it,” Han hummed, making Luke smile even more.

 _‘Oh get a room,’_ Leia sent her annoyance to her brother through their bond and in retaliation, Luke punched her lightly in the arm.

“So what’s the deal with you two?” The smuggler eyed them with an air of suspicion that even his cool attitude couldn’t hide. He swizzled his chair gently, keeping his eyes on them the entire time.

Leia immediately felt her defences go up. She crossed her arms and tried to not look as frazzled as she felt. She was acutely aware that one wrong word could have disastrous consequences.

“What happened to No Questions Asked?”

“No need to get defensive, Your Highness,” Han raised his hands in a calm down gesture. “It’s a simple question. A conversation starter of sorts.”

“‘ _What’s the deal with you_ ’ is a conversation starter now?” Leia frowned, her voice deadpan. “Nice try.”

“I’m just curious as to why two kids like you are travelling across the Galaxy, alone I might add. And how you happen to have 15,000 credits in spare change.”

“We’re not kids,” Luke’s pout didn’t do anything to help defend his point. Han just raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his seat with a smug look like he’d won the argument. “We’re 16!”

“Height ain’t on your side, kiddo.”

Luke grew more frustrated, crossing his arms. “What does it matter anyway? We paid you to take us to Dantooine, that’s all. You don’t need to start acting all protective.”

Han bellowed a laugh like Luke had just said the funniest thing in the Galaxy. He mock wiped a non-existent tear from his eye. “Whoah, whoah, kid, no said anything about _protective_. You think I care what kind of trouble you rugrats have got yourselves stuck up in?”

“Then why are you so interested in what our _deal_ is?” Leia piped up, levelling Han with a glare. The man just shrugged in a nonchalant way.

“Like I said: I’m curious is all.”

A few minutes past in silence, the tension in the communal area getting higher with each second. Artoo let out a quiet beep but not even Threepio decided to speak up. He seemed confused by the whole interaction.

When Han did speak again, his voice was quiet like he knew he would be hitting a nerve the second he said it. “After all, it ain’t everyday you get approached by two children who share the same name as a famous Jedi.”

The twin’s eyes widened and judging by the look on Han’s face, their reactions told him everything he needed to know.

“We—uh, we’re not related to a, uh, Jedi,” Luke’s voice wobbled and squeaked as per usual when he lied. His cheeks went bright red and the only apt description Leia could give to her brother's expression was that he looked like a Bantha in headlights.

“No one said anything about relation,” Han quirked his eyebrow, seeing right through Luke’s terrible facade. “Now I ain’t much of a stickler for the rules—“

“Shocker,” Leia muttered under her breath, earning a glare from Han as he paused.

“But I ain’t suicidal and I know talk of Jedi is pretty much a death sentence these days. Yet when two kids approach me stating their names are Skywalker and I see that they’re in possession of a laser-sword, I can’t help but delve into taboo topics.”

“You think we’re related to a Jedi?” Leia hated how off-guard she felt. Normally she had a lie ready to go but she had a funny feeling that anything she said, Han would see right through it. And she'd not been prepared to be called out for her name. “Jedi weren’t allowed to have children.”

Han shrugged. “Stranger things have happened.”

Artoo beeped loudly, throwing his own two cents in but his untranslated binary was left ignored by the rest of the people in the room. The only reply the astromech was met with was Threepio telling him to be quiet.

“I was a kid when The Clone Wars started,” Han Solo continued. “So I’ll admit my memory is hazy. But I know for a fact that Anakin Skywalker’s face was plastered everywhere. The Holonet loved him: The Hero With No Fear is what they called him. I was no Jedi-adoring fan but it was no secret that Skywalker was one of the best. His victories during the War were renowned. ”

“Skywalker’s a common name in the Galaxy,” Luke argued. “Especially in the Outer Rim.”

“Yet not every Skywalker is in possession of a laser-sword,” Han shot back. The twins knew there was no way of arguing out of this: Han had seen with his own two eyes as Luke had used a lightsaber to cut the cable attaching him to the bounty hunter. It would’ve been hard to miss.

“So what are you going to do?” Leia bristled, refusing to feel nervous. “You going to hand us in over simple accusations? Because you think we’re—“

“Hand you in?” Han laughed once more. “I ain’t no friend of the Empire; why would you think I care about some Jedi’s children running around the Galaxy?”

Artoo beeped once again, his whistles filling the space around them. Unable to help himself, Threepio bristled. “Don’t be so rude Artoo!” The astromech droid beeped once again. “You _are_ being rude Artoo! You’re acting like you’ve got a loose wire! I am so fortunate to be programmed with good manners unlike you—“

“Interesting droids you got,” Han turned his gaze on Threepio and Artoo, watching them with a spark of humour in his eyes. “A little annoying for my tastes.”

Luke chuckled, patting Artoo’s dome when the droid whistled something to Threepio again and they divulged into another argument which the other’s ignored. Over the insults Threepio was spewing at Artoo, Luke said: “You get used to them after a while.”

Just then, Chewbacca came back into the room with a loud roar. His sudden appearance seemed to jolt Threepio and the droid’s argument ended rather abruptly. “Oh my!” Threepio stumbled slightly.

Chewbacca roared at Han, making the man roll his eyes. “Calm down Chewie; yes I finished my repairs. You think I’d be resting if the Falcon needed maintenance?”

“If that were true, you would never rest,” Leia muttered snottily, her comment being heard by Han and earning a rather serious glare. There was something so easy about winding up the smuggler and Leia, for reasons she couldn’t explain, enjoyed doing it more than she knew she should.

“Hey!” Han snapped. “Listen here, Your Highness, the Falcon is one of the fastest ships in the Galaxy! She made the Kessel Run is less than twelve parsecs!”

“Am I meant to be impressed?” Leia scoffed. “I don’t care.”

Han bristled even more and with slight delight Leia realised that trash talking the _Millennium Falcon_ was the perfect way to really get underneath the Captain’s skin. It was like Solo’s ego couldn’t take any less-than-complementary comments about his beloved ship.

However, before Solo could pipe up and offer some angry comments back to Leia, Luke cleared his throat and jumped in. Forever the peace-maker between his sister and whoever was on the other end of her vexing, Luke knew exactly what to say to calm the situation down.

“That’s, uh, actually really good Han. So where did the _Millennium Falcon_ come from? You build her or—?”

Han glared at Leia once more, his frustration growing when she appeared completely unfazed but after a second he sighed. Turning back to Luke, he stretched his legs out even more to uphold his casual demeanour. “Won her in a game of sabaac.”

Luke spluttered. “Who was stupid enough to bet a ship in a game of sabaac?” He’d never personally played the card game favoured by criminals and drunks (Luke was sure his father would ground him until the end of time if he ever caught him playing it) but he knew betting a ship on it was probably the peak of stupidity.

Han laughed once more, shooting Luke a knowing smile. “I’ll tell Lando that the next time I see him.”

Leia had no idea who this Lando guy was but if he was friends with Han Solo, she doubted she ever wanted to meet him.

“But I guess you could say I helped make the Falcon to be as best as she could be,” Han added as a side-thought. “Chewie and I have been making special modifications for as long as we’ve had her. It’s the reason she’s so fast.” His next words were directed at Leia, turning his slightly stony expression on her. “You may think she doesn’t look like much but the _Millennium Falcon_ has it where it counts.”

Leia felt her irritation rise, unable to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Without any words, she stood up and left the room. There was something about Han Solo’s cocky gaze and how his temper matched her own that grated on her nerves for reasons she simply couldn’t explain. Every time he spoke, all she wanted to do was punch him right in his face.

The Captain watched her go with little care, turning to his Wookie first-mate as he started up a conversation.

“Leia!” Luke called after his sister, catching up to her when they were in one of the Falcon’s narrow corridors. They were out of hearing range from the communal area and Chewbacca’s roars sounded distant to them now. “Calm down!”

Leia squeezed her fists together, feeling so much pent-up annoyance brewing in her chest. She felt the urge to scream, if only to release some of her anger. “He’s just so— arg!"

“You were trying to antagonise him.”

“He’s such a nerf!” Leia continued on as if she’d not heard Luke’s words. “I can’t wait to get off this bucket of bolts!” 

Luke sighed, looking unsympathetic. “Would you mind toning down your attempts to vex the Captain? He could kick us out the air-lock at any given minute. Or dump us on some moon before we get to Dantooine and leave us stranded. Especially since we don’t have all the credits we promised him!”

Leia’s anger grew, her teeth baring as she seethed from Luke’s words. She waved her hands around like a maniac, jabbing her brother in the chest as she spoke. “It was not _I_ who promised the smuggler 5,000 more credits than we actually possessed! What were you thinking by the way? 15,000 credits! You _knew_ we only had 10!”

Luke raised his hands in the air, looking a little nervous. “It slipped out! He wanted extra and he wouldn’t have taken us if we didn’t offer more!”

“We could’ve haggled,” Leia argued, her annoyance growing at Luke’s reply of ‘ _it slipped out_ ’. “We could’ve argued! Promising a smuggler 5,000 more credits than we actually have was just plain stupid!”

Her brother sighed in defeat. “I know, okay?”

"How do you even expect to find 5,000 extra credits? I know Vader was rich but he didn't seem like the pocket-money giving kind."

Luke cringed and Leia instantly knew whatever was about to leave his mouth would only leave her more irate. "I, uh, well, I was just thinking we could cut and run? You know, give him what credits we actually have and then run before he notices."

Leia closed her eyes for a second, willing herself to calm down before she either punched her brother or broke her hand punching the wall. Once again, Luke's naivety had struck gold. His plan was to run? To run! From a blaster-wielding smuggler. And this, Leia realised, was why she was the mastermind behind most of their plans.

"I don't even want to dignify what you said with a response," Leia replied a second later when she got her temper under control. Han Solo was not the child-murdering kind but she knew he wouldn't take kindly to being cheated out of 5,000 credits. As Leia thought of the cocky smuggler, her annoyance grew once again. 

“Do you actually _like_ that nerf?” Leia couldn't help but ask her brother, pointing in the direction from where they’d come. For reasons she couldn't explain, Leia wanted Luke to hate Han as much as she was sure she did. But Luke, never one to hate or get to the level of vexed that she did daily, raised his hands in a sign of surrender.

“He’s not _that_ bad! You’re just purposely trying to get a rise out of him! You know Leia, if I didn’t know better, I would think you almost had a crush.”

Leia’s eyes blazed. “Don’t insult me like that.”

Luke just shook his head with a small smile, knowing it was better to leave some things alone when it came to his sister. “Okay, okay, but do you promise you’ll stop antagonising him?”

“Fine.”

Luke pointed at her with a mock-serious look. In his mind's eye, Luke thought of Vader and how the man had always pointed a gloved hand at him whenever Luke had done something wrong or cheated his way out of his chores. He quickly put his hand down, trying not to think of the father he wasn't sure he would ever see again. “That means no more insulting his ship! No more snide comments!”

Leia rolled her eyes. “ _Fine_.”

Luke nodded and was about to turn back to return to the communal area when Leia grabbed his arm, making him pause. “Luke, I think we should discuss what we’re going to do when we reach the Rebellion.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think we need to change our names,” Leia sighed. “We’re meant to be inconspicuous— we don’t want to raise questions, we need to just blend in. If a smuggler like Han can connect the dots about us being related to a Jedi then word will spread like wildfire if we reach the Rebellion and introduce ourselves as Luke and Leia Skywalker.”

Luke frowned. “But the Rebellion won’t snitch on us. And neither will Han!”

“But word will still spread,” Leia hated to be the realistic one. Her Skywalker legacy was slightly complicated and controversial but she wasn’t ashamed of who she was. But there was no denying that if they went to the Rebellion and introduced themselves as the Skywalker twins, they’d get far more attention than they needed.

“Think about it,” Leia carried on. “Only a handful of people knew our mother gave birth to twin children and that those children were the son and daughter of a Jedi. And all of those people are either now dead or in hiding somewhere. The Galaxy knows me as Bail Organa’s daughter; the leaders of the Rebellion know me as Princess Leia Organa.”

“I still don’t see the problem?”

“Luke! We want to stay inconspicuous— we don’t need attention brought to us right now; not when the Empire is literally breathing down our necks. Running around admitting we’re children of a Jedi is just stupid.”

“Okay,” Luke relented, finally seeing the point. After 5 years Luke had really believed he could take up his birth name once more but it seemed that was not the case. If someone heard the name Skywalker, they’d immediately think of the famous Jedi and they didn’t need that sort of attention. “So, what? You’ll be Princess Leia Organa still? And what about me? Introducing myself to the Rebellion as Luke Vader is like asking to be arrested!”

Leia paused for a second. “What about Luke Lars? It has no significance and I doubt anyone will know about Anakin’s step-family on Tatooine.”

Luke Lars. It had a small ring to it— that didn’t mean Luke liked it but he could accept it. “Okay. But won’t people recognise me? News would’ve spread about what happened at my school; won’t people put two and two together if they see you and me together?”

“If you go by Luke Lars then it looks like you’ve disowned Vader. Lots of people in the Rebellion are sons and daughters of high-ranking Imperials. The Rebellion doesn’t discriminate people because of their parentage.”

Luke nodded, an uncomfortable feeling growing in his chest. “So . . . does that mean we’ll have to pretend we aren’t twins? Pretend we don’t know each other again?”

It was heartbreaking to think that after the past few days of being able to act like siblings once more, they’d have to deny the other’s existence again. All they wanted was a normal life and yet it kept being denied.

“Like you said, the news would’ve spread about me, a Princess, convincing you, an Imperial, to join the Rebellion. We can say we’re friends who met on Empire Day several years ago and I found out you were in danger and saved you from the Empire’s wrath. We won’t admit to being twins nor talk about our biological parents but we can be friends.”

It was still lying and being forced to deny a part of themselves but it was better than acting like strangers so Luke had to admit it was better than nothing. “Okay. Fine.”

It wasn’t perfect but it would have to do.

* * *

When Vader received the call from Boba Fett, his hopes plummeted. He knew immediately when the bounty hunter called that he’d failed in capturing his son and the Princess. It seemed it really had been too good to be true that Luke would be returned to him so quickly.

“What happened?” Vader clenched his fists, his disappointment being drowned out by his anger. The worry in his chest burned as he thought of his son who was still lost in the Galaxy somewhere, not on his way home to where his father waited eagerly for him. How two 16 year old children managed to avoid Fett’s grasp evaded Vader.

“There was a complication, My Lord,” Fett sounded angry. “I engaged your son and the Princess but they were in the company of a low-life smuggler and his Wookie first-mate. I attempted to bring the boy in but the smuggler opened fire and they escaped.”

So his son’s life was now in the hands of criminals. _Perfect_ , Vader thought sarcastically. The boy was naive and stupid to hitchhike off of Tatooine in the company of a petty smuggler. A man who, no doubt, wouldn’t care if Luke lived or died, past the point of being paid.

“Did you not pursue them?”

“Of course. I followed them out of the planet’s atmosphere but my ship was disabled by their guns. They went into hyperspace and I lost them.”

Vader could’ve reached out and strangled the bounty hunter right then and there. Luke was gone— again! And he was potentially in danger from not only a manipulative Rebel Princess but now a devious criminal! His son should be tucked up in bed or struggling through his homework in the comfort of his home and not on a smuggler’s ship, halfway across the Galaxy where his father had no idea where he was.

“However,” Fett continued speaking and Vader could’ve slapped himself for how quickly his hopes were raised once again. “During my brief run-in with the boy, I put a tracker on his back. The co-ordinates are a little hazy since they’re in hyperspace right now but the second they come out, I’ll know exactly where the smuggler flew him to. I can continue in attempting to bring him back; if that is what you wish, My Lord?"

“No.” Vader said the word before he’d even truly thought. The situation had changed now. Fett had failed in bringing Luke back and Vader had no doubt that when the smuggler came out of hyperspace, the location of the Rebel base will be revealed along with where his son was. The Princess and Luke had been trying to throw the Imperials off their scent before making their way to the Alliance’s location.

Sending in a bounty hunter would do no good once that location is established. The base would be evacuated immediately the second Fett’s ship got too close and Luke would be lost once more.

No, this needed a gentler touch. A more inconspicuous being than what a known bounty hunter could provide.

“Send over the information of the tracker and I will pay you your usual fees, Bounty Hunter.” Vader collected himself, nodding his helmeted head at the man on the transmission. “Your service is no longer required after that.”

The second the transmission ended, Vader dialled a different frequency. The image of one of his assistants, the female Twi’leck who’d informed him of Luke’s disappearance, appeared before him. She had the same nervous look on her face but her posture was perfect and she bowed her head in greeting.

“My Lord?”

Vader wasted no time in pleasantries. The smuggler’s ship would come out of hyperspace soon and when it did, Vader wanted to be ready.

“Send over the best agent ISB has to offer. I have a covert mission of high-importance that they’re needed on.”


	15. Reaching Dantooine

After the small argument between the twins where Leia agreed to act more cordial in Han Solo’s company, things seemed to be running more smoothly. It would be a stretch to say Leia and Solo were friends and that petty jabs weren’t made but the tension in the ship had plummeted significantly.

“You’re cheating!” Leia couldn’t help but say with a slightly disgruntled expression as she pointed to where one of Chewbacca’s players had killed her own in dejarik. They’d been playing for the past hour, with the Wookie winning every single game. And now Leia knew why.

Chewbacca roared, clearing annoyed at the accusation.

“Don’t take that tone with me,” Leia raised her eyebrows. “I saw as clear as day as you just cheated! I demand a rematch!”

From where he was still lounging in the same chair as before, Han Solo smirked. “I would cool it, Your Highness. Chewie doesn’t like being accused as a cheater.”

“Its not an accusation if I have evidence,” Leia shot back. “You condone this behaviour? You’re really going to allow him to cheat?”

Han Solo raised his hands in the air. “I ain’t Chewie’s keeper! I’m simply saying that calling a Wookie a cheater isn’t the smartest move to be making.”

“And why’s that?”

Leia wasn’t sure if Solo was joking or not but he levelled her with a knowing look and a rather infuriating smirk. “Wookie’s have been known to rip out their opponents arms if you accuse them of cheating.” Chewbacca roared as Leia’s eyes widened.

“You know what,” she stood up from her seat, moving to where Threepio and Artoo were on the other side of the room. “I don’t even like dejarik that much.”

Han just chuckled, shaking his head. “So what’s so important on Dantooine that you’re determined to go to the middle of nowhere for?”

“You really don’t understand No Questions Asked, do you?” Leia leaned back and crossed her legs on the leather seat, patting Artoo’s dome when he whistled. Her brother sat on the floor beside the astromech droid, attempting to put a bacta-patch on the cut on his leg from where the bounty hunter’s cable had pulled him up into the air. It wasn’t very deep but Luke had whined about it until Han had thrown the Falcon’s med-kit at him.

Han shrugged like he didn’t really care. Chewbacca let out a quiet roar, tilting his head up as he did so. “I ain’t being nosy, Chewie!” The smuggler seemed offended as he addressed his friend. “I’m just curious!”

“Hey Han,” Luke spoke up as he placed the bacta-patch down on the deepest part of his cut. He dug through the med-kit (which was rather empty for medical supplies) and pulled out a bandage to wrap around his leg. “Can I fly the _Millennium Falcon_ to Dantooine when we get out of hyperspace? You know, to get more flying practice in?”

Han rolled his eyes. “Good try, kid.”

“Worth a shot,” Luke grumbled as he unrolled the roll of bandages. “I just hope my age doesn’t stop me from piloting for the Rebellion.”

“Luke!” Leia hissed the second the words left her brother’s mouth. Luke frowned up at her for a second before he froze, realising what he’d said. Chewbacca roared loudly and Han practically jumped out his seat, waving his hands around like he didn’t believe it.

“Whoah, whoah, whoah— hold on a second. _The Rebellion_? I’m taking you kids to the Rebellion? That wasn’t part of the deal!”

“The deal was to take us to Dantooine!” Leia shot back, making a mental note to kick Luke later for slipping up. Trust her brother to say something before he thought it through.

“You didn’t say the Rebellion was there!”

“What do you care? You said you weren’t no friend of the Empire!”

“Yeah but like I established earlier, I ain’t suicidal either, Your Highness! Smuggling kids to the Rebellion isn’t what I signed up for.”

“You signed up for the money,” Luke frowned, looking back and forth between Leia and Han like it were some sort of sport match.

“No amount of money is worth Imperial bucket-heads tracking me down because they think I’m in cahoots with the Rebellion, kid.” Han crossed his arms, glaring down at the twins. He was a lot taller than them and even with Leia standing up with her shoulder’s squared, there was still a massive height difference between them.

The Wookie roared once more and Han spared a glance to his friend, shaking his head. “Don’t take their side Chewie!” Chewbacca roared again. “We don’t need no Imps on our trail!” The twins watched as Han and Chewbacca argued, the man understanding everything the Wookie said. “Our whole operation could be exposed!” Another roar. This time, Han glared at his friend and shook his head, pointing a finger at Chewbacca. “You owe me Chewie!”

Slightly nervous, Luke looked up from his spot on the floor. “Uh, what did he say?”

“You’re lucky Chewie likes you kids so much— I would’ve dropped you off at the nearest spaceport if it weren’t for him.”

Leia swallowed down her high hopes. “So, you _are_ taking us to Dantooine still?”

Han blew out a puff of air, making his fringe raise slightly as he gave Leia a rather annoyed look. “Thank Chewie.” He turned on his heel, heading towards the cockpit. “I’m going to check everything is still running smoothly— don’t follow me.”

The twins watched him go, an awkward silence filling the air around them with only Threepio’s mumblings of “Oh I don’t even know what is going on— I’m a Human Relations expert yet I cannot make sense of what is happening!”

Chewbacca roared and Leia felt slightly bad that she couldn’t understand him. Twice the Wookie had saved their skin: first at the bar on Tatooine and then now. She moved back to where she’d been sitting before, pressing the dejarik board so the character’s lit up once more.

“Wanna play again?” She smiled at Chewbacca when he let out a low growl, pressing the board to move one of his character’s forward.

Leia didn’t even make a comment when she noticed him cheating once again.

* * *

_There was something scared in Padme’s eyes as she pulled out of Vader's— no Anakin’s, when she pulled out of Anakin’s embrace. Her hands were shaking and he’d never seen her look so on-edge before._

_“Anakin, don’t say things like that,” her voice sounded worried and from the look in her eyes, he knew there was something serious going on. He pulled his wife back into his hold, noticing how easily she accepted his arms around her like she’d been terrified this moment would never come._

_“Are you alright? You’re trembling,” his voice wasn’t cold and harsh like it always was now. There was no deep respirator demanding to be heard. He sounded human and not like the cyborg he's become. “What’s going on?"_

_Padme blinked up at him, her brown eyes filled with something he couldn’t place. It looked like worry— but more a worry for his reaction than what she actually had to say._

_“Something wonderful has happened,” she spoke with what he could see was forced happiness. She was happy, yes, but also terrified. But she pushed that terror away to try and appear more jovial about the news she needed to say. He revelled in the fact that he could see her face in colour rather than through the red-tinted lenses he was forced to live with now._

_“Ani, I’m pregnant.”_

_He wanted to say that it was wonderful. He wanted to say that it was the best moment of his life. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her and how devoted he would be to their family._

_But before he could say such words, Padme was stepping backwards. Her eyes were filling with tears and her hands circled the swell of her stomach as her features twisted in agony._

_“I don’t know you anymore! Anakin, you’re breaking my heart!”_

_She turned her back on him and he wanted to reach out and grab her— to pull her back into his embrace so he could wipe away her tears but then Padme turned around on her own. She was smiling at him, all looks of torment gone from her face as her hands rested on her curved bump with ease. Her hair fell down from her tied-up look, her curls framing her face._

_“Ani, I want to have our baby back home on Naboo. We can go to the lake country where no one will know,” she brushed her hair gently with a brush. There was a serene look on her face that made his heart burst. “I can go early and fix up the baby’s room.”_

_He stepped towards her, wanting nothing more than to hold his wife in his arms and never let go. But when he got close to her, his hands moved straight to her stomach, feeling a kick as the baby squirmed inside._

_“Ani,” Padme’s hair was tied up again in a series of small braids which led to a ponytail at the top of her head. Her brush was gone as she placed a gentle hand over his, smiling when the baby kicked again. “If we have a boy, I really want to name him Luke.”_

_The name sounded so perfect and just as he was about to say so, the boy in question wandered into his line of vision. Luke looked far younger than he remembered, resembling more the young child he’d found on Tatooine than the growing teenager he’d last seen weeks ago. His blonde hair was falling into his blue eyes and there was a smile on his face._

_“Dad!” Luke called out and when he reached out to touch his son, he realised his hands were gloved in the familiar black leather he wore everyday. The sound of the respirator filled the air around them, menacing as always, but Luke didn’t seem fazed. “Dad, can I have a custom speeder for my birthday this year?”_

_His voice was harsh as he replied, the voice modifier butchering all tones except menacing. He sounded like he were threatening a Rebel and not talking to his young son._ _“You are twelve years old, Luke. You do not even have a license yet.”_

_Luke waved his hand, that familiar smile that made the boy look so much like his mother spreading across his face. “So?"_

_The sound of a baby crying suddenly flooded into his mind and he turned around, trying to find the source of it. It sounded so familiar like he should know who the crying belonged to. Then a woman started crying, calling out his name. “Anakin! Anakin! Please! Anakin!!”_

_He knew who that voice belonged to. “Padme!” The harshness of his breathing increased and with the red-tint of his vision, he couldn’t manage to see where she was. Her cries continued for a few seconds, the sound of a baby crying in conjunction with her._

_“Father,” he turned back to see the teenage version of his son; the Luke he'd seen before his departure to the Mid Rim. Luke’s hair was shorter, his features chiselled out as he neared maturity. His mother’s smile was gone from his face._

_“Luke,” he reached out a hand, the leather of his suit crinkling as he moved. But he could not step forward, his feet were glued to the ground. The smell of burning flesh filled the air and he suddenly gasped in pain, his hand falling to his side as his skin felt like it were aflame again._

_“You were my brother Anakin— I loved you!” The echo of his former Master suddenly filled the room and he couldn’t do anything but fall to the floor as the pain overcame him. The fire was licking at his skin, burning off his hair and his destroyed limbs were nothing but stumps at his side._

_“Father,” Luke called out again, his eyes sad as he looked down to where his father lay. “I know this isn’t goodbye. I’ll miss you Dad. I love you.” And then Luke walked away._

_The sound of a baby crying got louder and louder as he lay burning from some invisible fire, unable to do anything scream._

Vader jolted awake, his eyes widening with horror as he took a second to realise he was submerged in bacta. The feeling of burning was washed away as the cool liquid calmed his skin and mind, helping to sooth the terrible burns that had left his skin charcoaled. Through the glass, Vader could see his comlink beeping.

It didn’t take long to get out of the bacta-tank and reattach the metal limbs and leather suit he adorned to survive. Once the respirator and mask was secured in place, he headed straight to his comlink. He was vaguely aware that he’d been in the tank for almost an entire day.

“My Lord!” The Twi’leck assistant he’d seen so much of since Luke left Coruscant, appeared on his screen. Vader wondered if he should perhaps learn her name. “The Bounty Hunter, Boba Fett, sent over his end of the tracker placed on Luke. It seems that he’s finally come out of hyperspace.”

 _Finally_ , Vader thought. _Some good news._

“And? Where is my son?”

“Dantooine, My Lord.”

Dantooine. It was almost perfect; the planet was in the middle of nowhere and all resources it had didn’t have much importance to the Empire. It was the most logical place for the Rebellion to build up a base there.

“Has ISB sent over a field agent yet?”

“Yes My Lord, he awaits instruction in the South-East conference room.” Vader nodded, moving out of his private chambers to go to the room his assistant spoke of.

“Very well, good work Lieutenant.”

The transmission ended just as Vader walked past Luke’s room, his steps faltering for a second as the urge to go inside pulled him closer to the door. He hadn’t been in there since before he’d left for the Mid Rim and in all honesty, Vader didn’t know why his hand went to the door-release. He knew Luke wouldn’t be in there. He knew his son wouldn’t be sat on his bed, watching the Holonet or playing some video game.

He knew he wouldn’t walk inside and be able to complain to someone about how messy the room was. There would be no sound— no life.

Yet he entered anyway.

It was strangely eerie, like the room was completely unaware that its owner was gone and had not been in there for several days now. Clothes were thrown on a chair, the bed was unmade and half the duvet was on the floor. A tap in Luke’s bathroom was still dripping ever so quietly and unfinished homework sat on his son’s desk, never to be completed.

He could almost imagine Luke sitting at that desk, scribbling some notes and growing frustrated when he couldn’t answer one of his Maths questions. Vader could almost hear Luke’s voice in his mind (“ _I can’t do it Dad! It’s too hard!”)_ and he could imagine himself walking over and trying to help his son with whatever equation had stumped him. It was a routine they’d both perfected after years of living together.

But then Vader blinked and the chair was empty, the pen was untouched and there were no notes on Luke’s homework. The air in the room was cold and it hit Vader like a tonne of bricks that his son had not been in here for days.

He turned towards the exit, trying to banish the memories and the emotions threatening to rise from his mind. Luke would be back soon— Vader would make sure of it.

One of Vader’s mechanical feet were just outside the room when he spotted the red smudge on the wall, right by the door. It was like dried paint staining Luke’s bedroom wall but at a closer inspection, he realised it was blood. Blood was stained on his son’s walls.

Luke’s blood.

The memory of Luke’s injured hand from the transmission he’d watched a million times filled his mind and he suddenly realised how his son had managed to bruise and cut his knuckles so badly. He’d punched the wall— with very considerable force.

The realisation was just as horrible as it was terrifying to imagine. The fact that his son had used so much force to injure himself, whether intentional or not, made Vader feel cold. It gave him a small insight to the kind of emotional turmoil Luke had been feeling in the weeks that he’d been off-world.

Many times in his youth and in his adulthood had Vader punched a wall. And the fact that Luke, his innocent and sweet son, had felt that kind of anger or frustration or fear, left Vader feeling like he’d failed. He’d failed to protect his son— from the Emperor, his own Master, no less. Palpatine had pushed Luke to be manipulated by the Rebels. He’d forced Luke to leave out of fear.

As Vader marched to go meet the ISB agent, he made a silent promise to Luke to destroy Palpatine’s threat.

* * *

“That’s Dantooine?” Leia couldn’t help but sound unimpressed as she leaned forward in her seat, staring out the cockpit window at the planet before them. It looked rather dull and sad from this distance, with the majority of the planet swarmed by patches of green agricultural land. It was a far cry from the beautiful Alderaan and Naboo— but then it was better than Tatooine so perhaps she shouldn’t complain as much.

“Told you it wasn’t much,” Han spoke with his usual ‘ _I told you so_ ’ attitude as he flew the _Millennium Falcon_ through the vastness of space to the planet before them.

“Han, are you sure you don’t want me to help co-pilot with you?” Luke whined for the millionth time after they’d left hyperspace. Chewbacca let out an indignant roar. “No offence Chewie!”

“Kid, you can look but you can’t touch,” Han raised a hand from the controls to point at Luke behind him.

Luke grumbled something under his breath, leaning back in his seat with a grumpy expression as he crossed his arms. Artoo whistled by his feet and Threepio patted Luke’s shoulder from where he hovered behind the twins in the cockpit.

“Don’t worry Master Luke, I think you’re an exceptional pilot,” Threepio spoke kindly.

“Thanks Threepio,” Luke grumbled, still annoyed at Han. Leia just rolled her eyes at her brother’s childish display. Of course Luke would be grumpy about not being able to fly someone else’s ship for them.

“Don’t be grumpy kid, it ain’t a good look,” Han called over his shoulder, making Luke frown even more.

 _‘Nerf,’_ he mumbled to Leia over their bond. His sister just raised her eyebrows.

 _‘I thought you said he wasn’t that bad,’_ she almost laughed as Luke’s annoyance became even higher. He gave her a glare to which she stuck out her tongue in retaliation.

It was as they passed through the atmosphere to Dantooine, Han Solo following Artoo’s co-ordinates to where the Rebel Alliance had stationed their base on the planet, when the comms suddenly flared up. Leia knew there must be a scout nearby, being on the lookout for incoming ships and Imperial convoys.

“To the Captain of the _Millennium Falcon_ , state your buisness here or prepared to be fired upon,” The speaker through the comms stated clearly, their voice crackly through the transmission. Leia remembered Bail once saying that the Rebellion was very on edge for Imperial attack and often levelled threats to ships not registered in their databases.

Han Solo pressed down on the comlink. “Hold your Banthas, this is Captain Han Solo of the _Millennium Falcon_ and I’ve got—“

Leia leaned forward, pushing Han out of the way slightly. “We’re here to join the Rebel Alliance. Bail Organa sent us personally.”

The man over the comms paused for a second. “Bail Organa? Permission granted! The _Millennium Falcon_ is cleared for landing.”

Leia smirked as the transmission went down. Han just rolled his eyes, his hands returning to navigate the ship to the landing bay on the base before them. “Okay hotshot,” he frowned. “Sit back down before you fall over when we land.”

There was one massive building up ahead that could’ve only been the Rebel base. There was a metal fence running along the outside of it, helping to protect the occupants and there was also stretches of farmland surrounding the building to help deter any non-Rebel passersby from inspecting further. Vines ran across the building, criss-crossing as they raced up to the top.

Despite Han’s words of a possibly uncomfortable landing, the _Millennium Falcon_ barely jolted as it touched down on the ground only a metre or so from the Rebel gates. Chewbacca growled as the ship landed safely and Han clapped his hands together like he was pleased this was finally over.

The twins checked they had all their belongings as they made their way to the back of the ship, the boarding ramp lowering down to reveal fresh air. Unlike on Tatooine, Dantooine was all cool breezes and bright skies. Threepio wasted no time in making his way onto the planet surface, his feet touching the ground like it was a miracle in itself.

“Oh thank the Maker! We survived! Solid ground— oh how I missed you!”

Leia shared a look with her brother, both of them rolling their eyes at the protocol droid’s dramatics. _‘We should probably turn and run,’_ Leia suggested when they realised the time had finally come to pay the smuggler. Luke only cringed, nodding his agreement.

“Well it looks like our time together has finally run out,” Han didn’t look sad to see them go. “Now just pay me the rest of my fees and be on your way.”

“What— no goodbye?” Leia couldn’t help but tease. “Won’t you miss us so?”

“You two have only brought me trouble, Your _Worshipfulness_ ,” Han threw back at her, crossing his arms. Chewbacca, however, had other ideas for he roared loudly in a tone the twins interpreted to be one of sadness. His hairy arms reached out and before they knew it, Luke and Leia were being crushed in the Wookie’s strong hug.

Luke laughed, slightly breathless. “We’ll miss you too Chewie!”

“Take care of the nerf, will you? Don’t let his ego inflate too much,” Leia smirked when Chewbacca finally let them go. Han let out an indignant “hey!” but didn’t complain too much.

“Here’s the rest of your fees,” Luke pulled out the rest of their credits from his pocket, shoving them in Han’s hand as the twins walked down the ramp with nothing but a backpack and the clothes on their backs. Artoo followed them, whistling his own goodbyes.

“You know Han!” Luke paused when their feet hit the ground. After their short time on Tatooine, they both preferred the grass over the sand. “The Rebellion could always use good pilots like you!”

Chewbacca roared once again but Han Solo raised his hand to shush his friend. “I’m sure you’ll be a good enough pilot for the Rebellion that they won’t even need me, kid. Nice try but my smugglin’ days ain’t over yet.”

‘ _Luke, let’s go,’_ Leia tried to pull her brother along, knowing it would only be seconds before Han Solo realised they’d swindled him. However, it seemed their time was up for the Captain yelled out for them once again, his hand inching towards the blaster on his hip as he glared at them from halfway down the ramp.

“I thought we agreed on 10,000 credits— you two trying to short change me?”

Even though Han’s hand was getting closer and closer to his blaster, Leia didn’t feel like she had anything to fear. “You can just add it to our tab. We’ll be sure to pay you the next time we run into each other!”

Han’s hand fell back to his side as Chewbacca growled once again. “Sweetheart, I’m praying that after today, we part our ways.”

“Then we count the extra credits void?” Leia smirked as she grabbed her brother’s hand and began running from the Falcon to the Rebel base. Han watched them go, wondering if he was getting soft by letting them swindle him 5,000 credits.

“Thanks for the ride Han!” Luke yelled, looking over his shoulder as his sister continued to half drag him to the base. There was something so innocent and good about his flustered smile that he sent Han’s way that made the smuggler pause. What was the harm in 5,000 credits anyway?

“Alright you big lug,” Han walked back up the ramp, shaking his head slightly at the gall of those twins. He guessed it taught him better than to trust two teenagers in a bar who promised they had 15,000 worth of credits stashed up their sleeves. It was a miracle they'd even had the 10 first promised. “Let’s get out of here.”

Chewbacca roared sadly as they made their way to the cockpit. “I don’t know why you’re sad,” Han shot back, receiving another growl from his friend. “We couldn’t keep them Chewie!” Another roar. “We ain’t no orphanage!”

As the Millennium Falcon fired up, preparing to leave Dantooine behind for good, Han spared one look to where the small figures of the twins could be seen at the Rebel gates, their droids tagging along in all their annoying glory.

“I’ll admit,” Han allowed himself a moment of sincerity. “There was something special about those two.”

Chewbacca roared.

“I don’t know what you’re looking at fuzzball, you’re the one who grew attached to them— not me.” With one final glance to where Luke and Leia had disappeared, Han shook his head as the Falcon flew into the air.

“May the Force be with them.”


	16. The Rebellion

The Rebel Alliance’s base was alive in every single way that Leia had dreamed. There was sound coming from everywhere: people talking, laughing, yelling out statistics as they ran around— it was simply a buzz of life. As Leia looked around, she almost lost count with how many people of different species were milling around, all of them doing their part to support the same cause.

Where the Empire discriminated, the Rebellion welcomed. Every person on this base was on the same side. They were all willing to lay down their lives to help fight the Empire and restore peace once more. They were all brothers and sisters in arms, joining together to do the right thing.

And Leia knew Bail must’ve been so proud. All of this was of his own doing. All of these people were here because of her adoptive father and the part he’d played in forming the Rebellion. One day, democracy would resume and it would have been because of this _—_ because of what Bail started.

Now, more than ever, Leia wished Bail were at her side so she could’ve shared his pride.

“Leia!” Luke had an awed look on his face as he ran towards a X-Wing that was directly in their line of sight. There was an excited ring to his voice and Leia just knew her brother was itching to climb inside and fly the ship with his own hands.

“Look at this!” Luke gently ran a hand on the ship’s hull, his fingers tracing the metal like it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. _Which it probably was_ , Leia conceded. They were in the hangar bay, surrounded by at least a hundred ships and star-fighters, all of which had rendered Luke speechless. Mechanics were milling around, making repairs and filling the engines up with fuel, none of them paying the twins any heed.

“She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” A man walked around from behind the X-Wing, giving Luke a kind smile. He looked rather young— older than the twins by at least a few years— with a mop of brown hair on his slender face.

“Is she yours?” Luke was still enamoured by the sleek ship, marvelling at the orange paint job adorned on the star-fighter. Leia knew that if this man said yes, her brother would practically worship the ground he walked on. He'd trail the behind like a lost puppy, lapping up anything the man could say about the vessel.

The man chuckled and something about the sparkle in his eye as he looked at the ship made Leia realise he shared a passion for flying akin to Luke. “She’s not mine personally— technically the Rebellion owns all these ships. But I fly this one, yes. I like to take good care of her when out of battle.”

“I’ve always wanted to own a star-fighter,” Luke replied dreamily.

“You a pilot then?”

Luke nodded, puffing out his chest slightly to try and not appear so young. “I have a Coruscanti license and whilst I’ll admit my experience in combat is slim, I don’t do too badly under pressure.”

Leia thought of how well Luke had handled throwing off the Imps on Coruscant, flying the Alderaanian ship around the City like it was second nature. “He’s being modest, Luke’s an amazing pilot. He could probably fly anything if you give it to him.” Luke beamed with pride at her words and she could tell how deeply he took her comments.

The man seemed impressed, offering Luke his hand. “Luke, is it? My name is Wedge Antilles— the Rebellion is always looking for good pilots. I’m sure you’ll fit right in.”

Luke looked like Christmas came early as he shook Wedge’s hand. He had a sneaky suspicion that he was going to get along well with this man. “Does that mean I’ll have my own X-Wing?!”

Wedge laughed, something genuine in the way he smiled. He found Luke’s excitement refreshing— it reminded him of when he first joined the Rebellion only a year ago. “I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out.”

Artoo rolled forward, bumping into Luke’s legs with a whistle as the two men got into a discussion about flying and ships which Leia honestly couldn’t keep track of. She wasn’t a bad pilot herself but conversations on the inner-mechanical workings of ships wasn’t something she was well versed in. Whilst basic mechanics had been part of her teachings on Alderaan, Bail had never encouraged her to get too wrapped up in it.

A sudden call of her name from behind had Leia turning around to see an elder man approaching, a smile on his face and his arms wide in anticipation of a hug. The man’s hair was white and there was a strong amount of relief in his warm eyes.

“Leia, it is you!” The man’s embrace was friendly. “You’re safe!”

“General Willard,” Leia greeted him kindly once she’d pulled out of his hold. She’d only met the General a few times when he’d come to Alderaan to discuss details about the Rebellion with Bail Organa but he’d taken a liking to her. He’d been a good friend to Bail and Leia knew he would look out for her now that her adoptive father was no longer around. “I’m so glad to see you!”

“No, _I’m_ so glad to see you, my dear! When I heard about the attack on the Palace, I feared the worst!”

Leia couldn’t help but cringe. She’d expected news of what had happened in the past week to be made public but there had been a part of her hoping that wouldn’t of been the case.

“Is the Holonet bad?”

General Willard hesitated. “Let’s just say you aren’t the Empire’s favourite person right now.”

Leia sighed. “I guess there are worse things in life.”

Her comment made the elder man smile and he threw an arm around her, pulling her in close like one would a grandchild. His warmth almost reminded her of how Owen Lars had reacted when Luke had returned to the farm. “Your father would be proud of you Leia; I hope you know that.”

And deep down, she did.

“Oh, uh, hi sir,” Luke’s voice cut through their moment. It seemed he’d finished his conversation with Wedge Antilles and grown curious as to who his sister was now conversing with. “I’m Luke S— Lars. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“General Willard, Luke’s the reason that I’m here now,” Leia introduced the two. “He’s been a good friend this past week. Luke, this is General Willard, he was a friend of my father’s.”

The General extended his hand to Luke, shaking it with a firmness only one in the navy could perfect. “Any friend of Leia’s is a friend of mine. It’s a pleasure to meet you, young man.”

“And you, sir,” Luke smiled back.

“Is Senator Mothma present on the base?” Leia turned to the General. As much as she trusted the elder man to give her all the information she’s missed over the past week, Leia didn’t trust him to be brutally honest about the situation she was now in. His caring for her would sugarcoat the truth and right now, all Leia needed was brutal facts.

“Yes, yes of course,” General Willard began moving, his arm still around Leia, as he directed the twins and their droids further into the base. “She’ll be most excited to see you, my dear. We were all so worried.”

Although Mon Mothma had been a close friend of Bail Organa’s, the two of them having served in the same committees during the Clone Wars and banding together to form the Alliance, Leia had only met the woman less than a handful of times. She respected Senator Mothma highly and Bail had always offered a kind word when the Chandrilan Senator had been brought up. But Leia knew Mon Mothma was practically married to the Rebellion— she would not to do anything to compromise all she had worked so hard to achieve against the Empire. And whilst Leia had acted so confident to Luke, a small nagging worry remained that he would be cast out because of his public parentage.

They’d have to be truthful to Senator Mothma above everyone else— perhaps not _too_ truthful, though.

‘ _We’ll have to tell Mon Mothma who you are Luke,’_ Leia relayed her thoughts to her brother through their bond as General Willard navigated them to what Leia suspected was the command room.

_‘Why? What happened to being Luke Lars?’_

_‘You’ll still have to go by that name but we’ll have to tell Senator Mothma that you’re Vader’s son— if she doesn’t already know. If we don’t then she might think we attempted to lie to her and that you’re here to compromise the Alliance.’_

Luke had to agree it made sense. _‘Fine. But if they bind me up and throw me in a prison cell, I’ll blame you.’_ Leia just rolled her eyes.

In the duration of their private conversation, Leia didn’t realise that they’d arrived at Senator Mothma’s location and General Willard had already spoken to her through the door comms. He nodded his head at them, clearing his throat. “The Senator is waiting for you inside. I’ll have to catch up with you at another time, my dear.”

“Thank you General Willard, for all you’ve done,” Leia smiled before they entered the room. The man just squeezed her shoulder and made his leave.

The room inside was large with a circular table stationed in the middle to project transmissions and technical readouts. There was a ring of platformed seats running around the outer part of the room, no doubt for the Rebel’s to sit and listen as missions were outlined.

Mon Mothma stood by the circular table, looking over a hologram of a strategic mission of some sort but when she noticed Luke and Leia approaching, she shut it off and made her way to them. She was a middle aged woman, rather tall and dressed all in white. Her hair was a light ginger, cut short in a simplistic style common on her home-world.

“Princess Organa,” Mothma smiled warmly at Leia. “I’m pleased to see you survived the attack on the Royal Palace.”

 _You have to be strong_ , Leia told herself as she bobbed her head up and down in a rather jagged impression of a nod. Bail’s death felt like it had occurred years ago yet the pain was still extremely new. In reality, it had been less than a week since her adoptive father had died.

“Yes, the attack was sudden and there wasn’t much time for precaution. My father got me to safety but the same cannot be said for him.”

A sad look crossed Mothma’s face and Leia realised that they truly had been friends. “I must say, Bail will be greatly missed. But his daughter survived and if I knew my friend, he no doubt would call that a victory.”

Leia nodded, putting on her best Princess face. _You have to be strong._ “Senator Mothma, may I introduce my friend Luke Lars? He helped me get here after the attack.”

When Mon Mothma looked at Luke, it was like she’d seen a ghost. She paused, searching his features and ignoring the hand the boy raised for her to shake. “Luke— Lars, you say?”

Luke cleared his throat, putting on his best manners. “Uh, yes Senator. It is a pleasure to meet you.” The hand he’d been holding out fell to his side. Artoo whistled by his side but Threepio was too busy looking around the room to translate his binary.

“You two have caused quite a stir in the Empire,” Mothma stated finally, looking between the twins like they were a complex equation she couldn’t solve. “The Imperial Holonet has not rested for days.”

“So you know who Luke is?” Leia could’ve cringed. Had she really thought bringing Luke to the Rebellion would be so simple? She could see her brother stiffen out of the corner of her eye.

Mon Mothma didn’t reply for a second, instead turning to the circular holo-projector beside them and scanning through files until she pulled a picture up on the screen. It was a rather out-dated image of Luke on Empire Day, standing beside the Emperor and Vader as the wrinkly man made a speech to the Galaxy.

Luke looked years younger but it was still recognisable as himself.

“It is not public knowledge about what occurred several days ago in one of the best schools in the Empire,” Mothma spoke slowly, her eyes trained to the picture and not on the twins. “The Empire has been very withholding to the public about the truth but our spies on the inside were able to reveal all they could. To the public, Luke Vader was abducted several days ago by an unnamed Rebel agent and is being held hostage by our cause. Similarly, several days ago Bail Organa was outed as a Rebel and assassinated. There is a manhunt looking for you Princess.”

“You said you knew the truth?” Leia prompted and Mothma changed the picture on the screen to be an audio-less security tape that showed Leia breaking into Luke’s school and yelling at him in the middle of his class.

“One of our agents was able to send this over. It is most interesting for you were acting alone. Unlike what the Empire believes, you were not sent to Coruscant to do the Rebel Alliance’s bidding. This was personal.”

“Luke’s a friend,” Leia performed her practised speech. “I met him on Empire Day, we became friends before I knew who his father was. After the attack on the Palace, I feared for his safety and I made plans to rescue him.”

“I find it most curious as to why when _you_ are attacked, it is the Imperial Prince’s safety you fear for?” Mothma had an odd look on her face, like she was searching for something in Leia’s eyes.

“The truth is,” Luke stepped in, clearing his throat. “The Emperor has been attempting to train me as a Sith. Princess Organa knew of this and I believe when her family was outed as Rebels, she took the opportunity to free me from the Empire. You must know Senator that I have no love for the tyrannical Government my father is a part of.”

“So you do have the same abilities as Vader?” Mothma looked both equally appalled and interested.

“Yes, ma’am,” Luke nodded. Leia was actually quite impressed with how collected her brother sounded. It was a far cry from mere minutes ago when he’d been fawning over a star-fighter. “But I do not wish to do what my father has with the powers he possesses.”

Mon Mothma paused before she nodded slowly. “The Jedi were once the most powerful beings in the Galaxy. They were peace-keepers and used their powers for good. I fear the War corrupted them and then the Sith rose and destroyed all the light they once possessed.” She paused again. “It would do good to have more of that light returned.”

“I, uh, I’m no Jedi,” Luke became a little nervous. “And I don’t plan to be.” _Yet_ , he added as a side thought.

Mothma conceded the point with a look that showed this conversation was far from over. “Very well.”

“Does this, uh, mean that I can stay?” Luke fidgeted with his sleeve for a second. “I know my father may raise concerns but I promise—“

Mon Mothma held up a hand. “The Rebellion does not turn down those who wish to help. Many sons and daughters on this base come from Imperial backgrounds. Although, perhaps you had it right in changing your name. It would not do good to announce the kidnapped Imperial Prince is on our base. Word will spread.”

Leia nodded, having thought as much.

“One of my droids will show you to some spare quarters,” Mon Mothma waved over a floating droid, a rather old model by Leia’s guesses. “You must be in need of rest. I expect great things from both of you during your time here. I know your father had high hopes for all you would achieve when the time came, Princess.”

Once again, Leia wished Bail were by her side to say such things to her himself. But Bail wasn’t here so Leia just nodded, feeling a lump rise in her throat as she and Luke thanked the Senator and prepared to follow the droid to some spare quarters.

Halfway out the door, Leia paused and turned back to where Mon Mothma was still watching them. “Senator, do you—uh, do you know how the Emperor discovered my father and I’s connection to the Rebellion?”

Leia knew that Mothma was not privy to the knowledge of who Leia’s biological parents had actually been nor that the attack on the Palace had actually been because such information had been discovered by Palpatine. The entire situation had been covered up by the Empire and painted as an extermination of an Alliance leader. Even the Rebellion believed Bail’s death had been because his roots to their cause had been exposed and not because he’d been harbouring a Jedi’s daughter.

But at the root of it, Leia was left with the question of how. How had Palpatine found out about her? And anything Mon Mothma could theorise could possibly help in her own method of solving the question that had been plaguing her mind.

Perhaps Bail had left a paper trail (not that he’d been so stupid) which had led Palpatine to the truth of her? Or perhaps his loyalty had been questioned for some time and digging into his past had revealed the truth about her?

But Mon Mothma looked sad as she shook her head. “We still have no intel on how the Empire came to discover Bail’s involvement in the Rebellion. There was no tangible proof to link him to our cause.”

Leia left the room feeling like she’d hit a dead end.

* * *

After such a busy week, it took all of Leia’s willpower to not pass out the second Mothma’s droid showed her to her quarters. They’d been issued separate rooms, with Luke’s only down the hall, and the second the doors closed, Leia had taken off for a shower immediately.

As kind as Aunt Beru had been to lend Leia some clothes, the second they’d come off, Leia had been relieved. The fabric had been too itchy and heavy, the size far too large and as Leia had stood underneath the warm shower, she’d been pleased to see all remnants of Tatooine drifting away.

The Rebellion had even issued new clothes to the twins, the droid having made a short detour in order to gather some that would fit, and as Leia pulled on the matching red tunic and trousers, she was pleased with how soft it was on her skin. After so many years of being Royalty, she was slightly ashamed to admit that she’d grown greedy for the soft fabrics that Princesses were entitled to.

Leia had hoped that the shower and the short time it had taken to braid her hair would be enough to resist her growing fatigue. She felt refreshed and somewhat restored in terms of energy but the second she laid her head upon the bed in her room, it hadn’t taken long before sleep had pulled her in. . .

_The sound of cartoon sound effects filled the room, their loud_ **_BOINGS!, POWS!_ ** _and_ **_BANGS!_ ** _reverberating around the small space, followed by childish giggles._

_It was early on Saturday morning— this Leia knew with upmost certainty. She didn’t need to look to her left to know that Luke was sitting beside her on the sofa, his giggles mixing into hers as they watched cartoons as per usual. Leia also knew that she was rather young, given her smaller build and childish body, she guessed that she was either five or just under. She also knew that she was dreaming._

_The sun began to peak through the curtains, the light slowly rising up to engulf the living room and for a second, Leia took her eyes away from the Holonet to look around at her childhood home. Everything was as she remembered: toys littering the floor (Luke’s fault not hers), the stain on the sofa from when sweets in her pocket had melted and leaked; there was mud by the front door no doubt from Luke’s boots and book bags filled with untouched homework were hanging up._

_Her childhood home was just as Leia remembered and as she settled in more on the sofa, laughing at the cartoon playing on the Holonet, the sense of home filled her bones._

_“Isn’t it rather early for you two to be up?” Obi-Wan’s voice floated into the room, the man appearing in the doorway with a slight smirk and raise of his brow. He looked younger than Leia remembered last seeing him: less wrinkles upon his face and grey only beginning to grow from his roots._

_Obi-Wan’s hair was mussed from sleep, his eyes slightly puffy but he was already washed and dressed for the coming day._

_“If only you two liked to wake up early when it is a school day,” Obi-Wan hummed with good humour._

_Luke spared a glance from the Holonet, shooting Obi-Wan a wide grin. “But we have to watch cartoons on Saturday, Obi-Wan! We have to!”_

_“And you don’t have to go to school?”_

_“That’s debatable,” Luke shrugged, his childish voice butchering the latter word. It was a phrase he’d heard Obi-Wan mutter countless times._

_Obi-Wan sighed, seeming to give up. He’d been fast asleep when the sound of giggling and loud sound effects had brought him back to the land of the living. Although he was not used to lay-ins and he’d always been an early riser, he’d been known to sleep in occasionally on a Saturday to rejuvenate._

_That, thanks to the help of two young children, seemed to be a thing of the past now._

_Ever since Luke and Leia had been able to climb out of their cribs and work the Holonet, Obi-Wan had found himself being woken every Saturday— sometimes before the sun had even risen— to the sound of their laughter from the living room. And even though he found himself exhausted and in desperate need of a longer sleep, it was a rather wonderful sound to be woken up by._

_“It’s de-bate-able, Luke,” Obi-Wan sighed, correcting the young boy. Leia giggled at his tone, knowing Obi-Wan expected Luke to pay him no heed. And just like they’d all known: Luke had turned back to the Holonet, giggling mindlessly at the cartoon and ignoring the correction being made at him._

_“Obi-Wan!” Leia lent over the back of the sofa, watching as the man moved to the kitchen. She knew instantly that he was going to pour himself a pot of caff— it was just routine._

_“Yes, Leia?”_

_“Can we have bacon and eggs for breakfast today?” She batted her eyelashes in an attempt of manipulation. It seemed to be her expertise: a few tears and batting her eyelashes and she would nearly always get her way._

_“No! Pancakes!”_

_Luke’s attention had gone from the Holonet and he was leaning over the back of the sofa as well, turning his head to stick his tongue out at his sister._

_“Eggs!”_

_“Pancakes!”_

_“Eggs!” Leia crossed her arms, glaring her brother down as if to dare him to argue once more._

_But Luke was one of the only people in the entire world to be immune to her ‘mean look’. “Pancakes!”_

_“You chose breakfast last week Luke!”_

_“No, I didn’t!”_

_“Yes, you did!”_

_“Alright, alright,” Obi-Wan cut in just as Luke opened his mouth to argue again. “How about both? That should settle the matter, yes?”_

_The twins paused, both eyeing each other up like one would an enemy before seeming to decide it was okay at the same time. “Yes!” They yelled in unison and Obi-Wan couldn’t help but sigh as he shook his head. It was barely past 7am and he was already exhausted with handling the two Skywalker’s he was attempting to raise._

_“Can I whisk it?” Luke jumped over the sofa, rushing into the kitchen with Leia hot on his tails. The Holonet was left ignored, the cartoons no longer facing an adoring audience._

_“Try not to make a mess this time,” Obi-Wan put the mixture into the bowl and handed it to Luke to whisk as he got started on the eggs and bacon Leia had demanded._

_It was completely expected that Luke would make a mess. His tongue was stuck out in concentration and his child-like, chubby hands gripped the whisk in a death-grip, moving awkwardly as he flung bits of batter over the side of the bowl. It didn’t take long before there was more mixture on the table than in the bowl._

_“Luke!” Leia squealed, sounding suddenly older than five. “You’re making a mess!”_

_“Am not!”_

_“Are too!”_

_“Am not!”_

_“Are too! Look: it’s all over the table!”_

_“Hey! Luke, Leia, what is my number one rule?” Obi-Wan turned around from the stove and shot the twins a serious look, his eyebrow quirked up. The sound of sizzling filled the room and as the twins exchanged a look, they seemed to cringe._

_They spoke in unison. “Not to argue before you’ve had your first caff of the day.”_

_“Exactly,” Obi-Wan nodded his head, picking up his mug and taking a much-needed sip. “Or how about let’s add in a new rule: no arguing before 8am.”_

_Leia didn’t mean to be difficult, it was just in her nature. As she crossed her arms over her chest, a stubborn look crossing her face, she had no idea how Obi-Wan suddenly felt as if he was looking down at a young Anakin. “We weren’t arguing though, Obi-Wan.”_

_It took all his will-power not to roll his eyes. “Oh really? Then please enlighten me to what you were really doing if it were not arguing?”_

_“We were just having creative differences,” she stumbled over the last word but kept her chin raised as if she’d not messed up._

_The laugh that escaped Obi-Wan’s mouth was warm and his eyes twinkled. “Well said, Senator—”_

“Leia!”

A loud yell from above startled Leia out of her sleep, her heart seeming to skip a beat and her stomach churning at the abrupt ending of her slumber. She groaned when her fuzzy mind finally placed the blue eyes staring down at her and for a second, Leia actually considered strangling her brother for his rude awakening.

“You nerf,” Leia’s voice was groggy as she glared at Luke, struggling to sit herself up in her bed. Her bones felt weak, as if her body was still asleep beside her mind having been suddenly awoken.

Luke didn’t reply, instead offering a half-hearted shrug before taking a seat at the foot of Leia’s bed. There was a mischievous gleam in his eyes, however.

“Oh Mistress Leia!” Threepio fussed from the corner of the room, Artoo letting out small beeps beside him. “Your room is just as small as Master Luke’s! Although, yours is much tidier!”

Luke rolled his eyes. “All I did was throw my old clothes on the floor Threepio; the room isn’t that messy!”

Leia noted that her brother was dressed in a pair of brown trousers and a white tunic, his school uniform long gone.

“But Master Luke, Artoo nearly fell into your pile of clothes! I must say it is a death trap.” Artoo let out a series of loud beeps, which seemed to do nothing but start a small ache behind Leia’s temples. “Yes you did Artoo, I saw you nearly fall into the clothes whilst Master Luke had a shower!” Another few beeps. “I am not lying, Artoo! You incompetent waste of circuits, how dare you accuse me of lying to Master Luke and Mistress Leia!”

Leia rubbed at her temples, knowing the brewing argument between Threepio and Artoo would do nothing but make her headache grow. “Does it really matter? Luke’s a slob, we’ve known that since forever.”

“Hey!”

“Is there any actual reason for why you barged into my room and rudely woke me up from my very-needed nap?”

Luke, just like when he’d been a child, was the one person not affected by her glare. He just shrugged and waved a datapad he’d had in his hand, in the air. “I was looking on the Holonet and you won’t believe the Bantha-spit they’ve written about my so-called abduction.”

Leia honestly believed all of this could’ve waited until she’d awoken naturally rather than Luke having yelled at her until she’d jolted awake, but there was nothing she could do about the matter now.

“Go on.”

He cleared his throat, resting the datapad on his drawn-up knees. “It has been 5 days since Imperial Prince Luke Vader was abducted from his school by unknown degenerate Rebellion Agents. No knowledge has been revealed about his whereabouts and those high up in the Imperial hierarchy expect ransoms calls any day now.

The kidnapping of the 16 year old Prince is seen by experts as a malicious attempt on the Rebellion’s part to destabilise the Empire and cause chaos behind the scenes. Although no official word has been made, an insider at the Imperial Palace has stated their dubious belief that the young boy will return alive.

This sinister plot made by the Rebel Alliance has not been the first kidnap attempt of important children nor is it believed to be the last. Sons and daughters of important Imperial leaders are being doubled up on security after this devastating event and the school to which the young Prince was abducted from has introduced new guards to help patrol the area. As of yet, Lord Vader has not made an official statement but is believed he arrived back on Coruscant three days after the abduction was made.”

“Oh that does sound terrible,” Threepio sounded rather worried and even Artoo let out a few slow beeps.

“It’s lies!” Luke stressed, waving the datapad around like it was evidence on some dramatic Holonet law show.

Leia couldn’t help but roll her eyes, the nausea from her abrupt awakening making her rather moody. “What did you expect? They weren’t going to admit the truth.”

“But I left willingly! My whole class saw me leave on my own free will!”

“I bet they’re vowed into silence. Would Vader really want the whole Galaxy to know his son is a traitor? It stirs up more sympathy for you to be a victim of nefarious Rebel kidnappers than a new recruit.”

Luke sighed, plopping down on the bed with a lot of dramatics as he stared up at the ceiling. “I still don’t get it. Why didn’t they mention you? I don’t get why they’re portraying what happened as two separate events: there’s news about you being a Rebel and being on the run and then there’s an unconnected story about me being kidnapped.”

“Do you honestly think I’m capable of kidnap?”

Luke pushed himself up on his elbows, giving Leia a long look. “Do you really want me to answer that? You have a mean streak the size of a Bantha.”

She rolled her eyes, wondering if she had justifiable rights to reach over and punch her brother in the arm. He did purposely (and rudely) wake her up, barge into her room and now he was insulting her. But just as she was coming to a conclusion in her mind, Threepio spoke up.

“Oh Mistress Leia, I do not think you would ever be capable of such an atrocious thing!”

Leia couldn’t help but smirk at the droid when Artoo let a string of whistles.

“I am not sucking up Artoo, how dare you suggest such a thing, you poor excuse for a—“

“Thank you Threepio,” Leia cut in, shaking her head with mirth. _Take the highroad_ , she told herself.

“Luke, I’m five foot two and I’m smaller than you. Its hard to paint me as a nefarious kidnapper— people would probably catch on that your kidnapping wasn’t as sadistic as the Empire wants the Galaxy to believe. They want to damn the Rebellion and by twisting the truth, the Empire gets sympathy votes.”

Luke flopped back down on the bed, admitting defeat. They didn’t speak for a moment until Luke’s voice filled the quiet space, a thoughtful murmur to his tone. “I wonder how he’s taking it.”

“Who?”

“Father.”

Leia wanted to say that she didn’t care. Or that she hoped he was in tremendous pain at discovering his son’s treachery— after all, he deserved it. He hadn’t deserved to have Luke for the past five years, that Leia knew as a fact.

But there was a slight tremor in Luke’s voice and Leia knew being harsh and carless here would do nothing but upset her brother. She thought of Luke on the Alderaanian ship, the night before they’d landed on Tatooine. He’d looked so sad and small, curled up in the pilot’s seat as he’d sniffled and wiped the dry tears from his eyes.

_I miss him. And I know you hate him but I don’t. I love him Leia; he’s our father whether you see him that way or not. And I miss him._

No matter what, Vader would always be Luke’s father, whether Leia wanted to admit he was hers or not. And Luke— good ol’ Luke who believed in the goodness in everyone and refused to give up hope on the man their father had become, seeing every small action as one with a bigger meaning— would always love the man.

“I don’t know,” Leia settled on that, knowing it was neutral enough to not cause a stir.

“The Holonet says he’s back on Coruscant, so he has to know what happened. I don’t regret leaving but I regret the fact that by doing so, it hurt him.”

“Staying would’ve hurt him more,” Leia was almost shocked at how true her words were. If Luke had stayed, the boy Vader would’ve returned to wouldn’t be the one laying before her now. It would’ve been a twisted version of the boy they both loved.

Luke sighed, “I know.”

Silence resumed once more and although Leia had been awoken from her nap, she liked Luke’s company. Even in the quiet, it was a comfortable. After years of being separated, with only a single day of reunions, Leia had almost forgotten how _easy_ it was to hang out with her twin.

“Do you think Obi-Wan’s on the base?” Her question was quiet, in the same vulnerable tone Luke had used minutes earlier.

The sound of Obi-Wan’s laughter from her dream echoed in Leia’s mind and she could see his wide grin and the twinkle in his eyes. _Well said, Senator—_ The laughing image morphed and suddenly Leia saw a wearier, slightly older version of Obi-Wan with sad eyes and a tight jaw. _Your safety is more important than anything . . ._

After losing a father, it would be nice to get one back.

“Senator Mothma didn’t mention anything,” Luke frowned.

“But why would she? No one knew Obi-Wan raised us— they don’t even know we’re twins! Senator Mothma wouldn’t think we were entitled to know such information.”

“But she talked about me possibly becoming a Jedi,” Luke raised himself up on his elbows again. From Leia’s tone, he knew his sister was thinking seriously about this. It mattered to her— a lot. “Wouldn’t she make a mention of another Jedi on the base, if so?”

Leia shrugged, refusing to let the hope in her chest die. “Not necessarily. Can you sense him?”

Luke closed his eyes, stretching out with the Force as he extended an invisible hand that ran around the base in search of the presence he knew would belong to Obi-Wan. It went through walls, round corridors and in and out of rooms, trying to find the one person they wanted.

But no results showed.

When Luke opened his eyes, he almost hated how disappointed Leia looked. She’d clearly done the same thing as he, searching the base with the Force to try and find the man.

“But that doesn’t mean he isn’t here,” Luke couldn’t help but add to try and lift his sister’s spirits up. Something in him told him that Obi-Wan wasn’t here but what harm would come from letting Leia hold onto her hope for a little bit longer. “He could be shielding?”

Leia nodded her head like she hadn’t considered that possibility. “Do you think?”

“It’s possible.”

“Then we’ll have to find him! We can search the base on foot.”

Luke wanted to slap himself. “Leia, I don’t really know—“

“Luke, if we go looking then we can definitely rule out if Obi-Wan is on the base or not.” She spoke in her best Princess voice, a politician’s edge to it as she stated facts at her brother. Her words were all logic and nothing else.

In the end, Luke conceded. He knew, whether he agreed or not, Leia would go on the search herself. Whenever she put her mind to something, nothing would be able to deter her. And at least if he was with her, he would be able to lend a shoulder for her to lean on when they came up empty handed.

As they left Leia’s quarters, in search of Obi-Wan and to explore the base, Luke couldn’t help but feel as if they were setting themselves up for disappointment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took longer than usual to update; I had edits to do and not enough time to do them :/
> 
> Also, sorry to any Rebels fans but I won't be including the cast from the show in this fic :(


	17. New Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little caution, there are some major Clone Wars Season 7 (last two episodes) spoilers in this chapter. I know the finale has been out for a while now but if you haven't caught up on it then be wary that there are spoilers up ahead.

As Luke had expected, after two hours of wandering around the Rebel base, they had yet to find Obi-Wan nor find any hint that the man had even stepped foot on the planet. Artoo and Threepio trailed behind the twins, both of them equally unenthusiastic about being dragged along on the quest to find the missing Jedi. But even with Threepio's whining and Artoo's annoyed beeps, Luke had to admit the astromech droid had been a Force-send.

The amount of locked rooms that Artoo had managed to pry open had been immeasurable. Yet nothing had been found of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

By the time it had crossed over the two and a half hour mark on their 'Obi-Wan search', they'd already circled the length of the base twice, visited the hangar three times (more for Luke's sake to gawk at the ships) and wandered around the area outside to see if their former guardian had been in any of the adjacent buildings.

And even though Luke didn't want to see that disappointed look cross Leia's face once again, he knew that enough was enough.

“I think we have to admit defeat Leia,” Luke sighed as they wandered the halls of the base back to their quarters. Various people passed by but no one paid them any attention. _It was like being at a summer camp,_ Luke thought to himself. There were so many different people of different species and backgrounds and they all had their own jobs to do and carry out, every single person focused on the same cause.

“I just don’t understand! Why is Obi-Wan not here? Why wouldn’t he have joined the Rebellion after we were separated?”

Luke shrugged; he had no idea as to what the answer could be. Threepio, however, gave his possible theory. “Perhaps Master Kenobi is simply not on this base, Mistress Leia? Perhaps he is working for the Alliance but he is elsewhere?"

Leia hummed, not sounding very convinced. She’d been praying they’d miraculously bump into their old guardian. After the horrible week she’d had with her adoptive father dying and her being attacked, all Leia wanted was to see Obi-Wan again and feel protected in his presence.

“Maybe he’s this way?” Leia pointed down a corridor but Artoo let out a string of angry whistles, refusing to go any further.

“Artoo does not believe Master Kenobi is on the base, Mistress Leia. He think it’ll be best if we just return to our quarters,” Threepio translated but Leia shook her head.

“I want to keep looking.”

“Leia,” Luke sighed. “Obi-Wan’s not here— at least, not right now. Maybe we should go back and rest some more.”

Maybe it was stubbornness or something akin to desperation but Leia truly did not want to give up her search. She knew Obi-Wan was not here but she couldn’t shake the thoughts that maybe-- just maybe-- if they looked hard enough, the man would appear. Going back to her quarters now meant admitting they were well and truly alone.

“You go back,” Leia carried on walking forwards. “I don’t feel like resting.”

Luke watched her go with a sigh before he turned back to Threepio and Artoo. “You guys go back to my quarters and charge. I’ll stick with Leia.” Artoo whistled like he was trying to say no.

“I must agree with Artoo, Master Luke. We don’t like the idea of leaving you two alone. The last time we did, you became friends with criminals!

Luke smirked. “We’re with the Rebellion now, guys. We won’t be picking up any untrustworthy people from bars now— and Han and Chewie were nice! We’ll be fine wandering around here by ourselves.”

“Very well Master Luke,” Threepio made a sound that almost compared to a sigh as he and Artoo rolled back the way they’d come. Artoo beeped as they left. “I know Artoo, I do not like it any more than you! But Master Luke insisted! I know, I know—“

Luke shook his head as the sound of their arguing faded away before turning around and following Leia’s presence in the direction she’d gone. He saw her not too far up ahead and lightly jogged to catch up. “You going to tell me what this is about?”

“What is what about?”

“Leia, you’re blinding searching for Obi-Wan. You know he isn’t here, why are you torturing yourself so?”

“What if we just missed something? What if he’s hiding and it’s up to us to find him?”

Luke rolled his eyes. “You don’t believe that; I know you don’t. We’ve searched for nearly three hours! He isn’t here.”

Leia bit her lip and she knew she couldn’t live in denial for any longer. Luke was right: Obi-Wan was not on the base. He wasn’t here and she was only enhancing her disappointment by pretending that he could be.

But still she held onto one last shred of hope. As they walked in silence down the corridor, Leia closed her eyes and reached out with the Force. Like an invisible hand stretching out from her, Leia used it to search the base. It flew down the corridor, turned every corner and went through walls as it looked for the familiar presence of Obi-Wan.

She was just about to admit defeat when Luke grabbed Leia’s arm and yanked her roughly to the side. The wound on her arm burned like it had been reopened and she hissed in pain, her eyes flying open.

“I’m so sorry, she wasn’t paying attention,” Luke apologised for her and Leia looked up to see an elder man standing right where she’d been a second ago. Her mind clicked and she realised she must’ve been about to walk into him.

“No harm done,” the man spoke kindly. He looked to be considerably older than them— perhaps in his sixties, judging by the wrinkles and maturity on his wisened face. He had tan skin and his head was bald but there was a bushy, white beard resting on his chin.

“You okay there, kid?” The man looked concerned when Leia winced as her hand wrapped around the wound on her left arm. The bandage was not visible underneath her red, long-sleeved tunic but the sudden paleness of her skin and from the way she blanched when her palm touched the area close to her injury, he seemed to understand she was hurt.

“I’m fine,” she ground her teeth together.

Luke frowned. “You look kinda pale, Leia.”

“I’m fine.”

“Maybe we should get you to a medic,” the elder man pointed out, his concerned look deepening. “You her brother, kid?” The man asked Luke.

“Uh, no— I’m just her friend.”

The man looked a little surprised. “Really? Huh, you guys look like you could be siblings. You wanna give me a hand with your friend? She looks like she might pass out.”

Luke stepped forward but Leia side-stepped him, shaking her head. She ignored how fuzzy her brain felt and the small, black dots that danced in her vision. She was fine! “I don’t need a medic— I’m fine!”

“You’re extremely pale right now,” the man frowned. “I think taking you to a medic is the best option.”

Leia moved once again when the elder man reached for her. Her vision swam violently and she had to lean against the wall to stay up. Across their bond, Luke’s fear and concern sparked. She could hear him beg her to see a medic in her mind but his words were like distant echos.

“Seriously, kid,” the bald man frowned. “You need medical help. You’re hurt.”

Leia kept her back pressed to the wall, trying to control her breathing. Her arm felt like it was screaming and the burning was all she could think about. Still, she shook her head. “I’m the Princess of Alderaan— I don’t need your help. I’m— fine, I’m fine.”

“Leia,” Luke warned, his eyes wide. He could sense her increased pain in her left arm and he realised the lightsaber wound she’d been ignoring for days now must’ve flared up when he’d pulled her. Guilt settled in his chest. “I think you do need medical attention.”

The pain grew to a crescendo and Leia suddenly felt light-headed. The black dots in her vision grew bigger until it felt like a battle to just shake her head. “I’m fine,” the words were slurred and she pitched forwards like a marionette puppet whose strings were cut.

As the world went dark, Leia felt the elder man’s hands catch her before she hit the ground.

* * *

“—both children are slightly malnourished; especially the boy, I suspect he hasn’t eaten well in weeks. The Princess’ laser cut was at risk of infection but with the prescribed antibiotics and the fresh bandage, she should be fine. Her arm was jarred and it reopened the wound— coupled with the malnutrition and that was the cause of her fainting.

“I also put a cast on the boy’s hand. His knuckles were fractured but not so severely. I expect the bacta-cast will have it as good as new in a few days time.”

The unfamiliar voice was not unkind and as Leia returned to consciousness, she slightly recognised the voice of the man who replied to the obvious medic.

“Thanks, Doc. So they’ll be okay?” The elder man from before, who Leia vaguely remembered had a full white beard, spoke quietly.

The medic hummed. “I’ve hooked them up to IVs and given them some nutrients but it will be good if they eat soon.”

“I’ll take them to the canteen once they wake up,” the man replied. “Thank you.”

Leia groaned when she heard footsteps moving away and there was the sound of a chuckle from the foot of her bed. Blinking away the harsh light, Leia’s eyes adjusted to the room around her. She was laying on a medical bed, an IV hooked up to her and on a bed not so far away was Luke. The medical room was rather small and empty but there were more than enough equipment stored around to help those on the base.

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” the man chuckled again. He moved so he was standing beside Leia’s bed, his arms crossed over his chest. Up close, Leia could see his eyes were a warm brown and there was something familiar about his face.

“What happened?” Her voice was groggy as she spoke.

“You passed out kid,” the man spoke kindly. “Your friend and I brought you here.”

“And Luke?” She glanced at her brother who was snoring quietly on the bed near her.

The elder man chuckled once more. “He passed out when the medic insisted he have an IV put in to help with his malnutrition.”

If Leia had the energy, she would’ve laughed. “I’m sorry about all this— you don’t have to stay.”

“I told the medic I’d get some food down your throats so don’t think I’m going anywhere. And it’s no bother.”

Leia smiled. “I’m Leia Organa, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I just wish I hadn’t made a complete fool of myself— its not much of a first impression.”

“So it’s true, the famed Princess Organa really is on the base. I thought Wolffe was lying when he told me that one.”

Dread pooled in Leia’s stomach and she groaned. Bail Organa was beloved by the Rebellion and she wondered how high people’s expectations of her were going to be.

The elder man suddenly smiled. “And you don’t have to worry about first impressions, Your Highness. You aren’t the first person to try and hide an injury from me that I’ve then had to drag to medical. A friend of mine was once shot, twice, in the leg but didn’t tell anyone until he nearly fainted from blood loss. I had to carry him to receive medical attention.”

Leia smirked, deciding she liked whoever this old man was. He seemed nice. “It sounds like your friend and I have a lot in common.”

“Well, unlike him, I hope you learn from this Princess. Hiding injuries only makes your life harder.”

“Please, call me Leia. What’s your name?”

“Rex.”

“Nice to meet you Rex,” Leia smiled just as her brother started to wake up. Luke groaned, rubbing his head with a slightly confused expression.

“Force, what happened?”

“Kid, they put that IV in your arm and you passed out like this,” Rex snapped his fingers together. There was a grin on his face. “You remind me of a friend— he used to pass out at the sight of needles too.”

Luke’s cheeks burned and Leia noticed he was still doing his best to not look at the IV in his arm. “Your hand was fractured too— not so seriously that the bones needed to be realigned but the medic says you need to wear that cast for a few days to help heal.”

A horrified look came across Luke’s face. “Does that mean I can’t fly?” Leia rolled her eyes— _seriously_?

Rex huffed a laugh, the sound all natural and light-hearted. “Calm down kid, the cast is one of the flexible ones which means you can still do most activities during your time of healing. You just need to keep it on and the bacta in the cast will do its thing.”

Luke visibly relaxed.

“So, you’re a pilot?” Rex looked curious. “I would’ve said you were twelve— are you even legally able to fly?”

“I’m sixteen! I have a license! Why do people keep questioning that?!”

“I’m just joking,” Rex smirked. He offered Luke his hand to shake. “You passed out before we could do introductions. I’m Rex— Luke, right?”

Luke nodded, managing a small smile. “Luke Lars,” he shook Rex’s hand, deciding he liked the man before him.

“You know,” Rex had a thoughtful look on his face. “You look a lot like someone I used to know. He was a good friend. We fought together in the War. Maybe its the eyes?”

“I doubt I’m related to whoever you think, wait— you fought in the Clone Wars?” Luke's mouth dropped open and he cast Leia shocked look before double-taking back to Rex, like he didn't really believe what he'd heard. “Really? Like for the Republic?”

Rex smirked. “Of course I fought for the Republic. Kid, I’m a Clone.”

Leia went ridged in her bed, her muscles tensing up as she frowned. At Rex’s words, it all clicked together. She’d been unsure why he’d looked so familiar and now she knew: he had the generic face of all the Clones, an exact replica of the bounty hunter Jango Fett.

Yet, despite the war having ended sixteen years ago, and all the Clones having been physically in their twenties at the time of the battles, Rex looked to be about sixty now. In reality he should only be about several years older than the twins themselves. _Accelerated growth,_ the words clicked in Leia's brain. 

Distrust coursed through her veins and although nothing about his presence in the Force told Leia to be wary (in fact, she almost felt _more_ drawn to him), she couldn't help but sit upright and give Rex a look that was akin to when a person saw a ghost. Here, stood before them, was a Jedi killer. A man who'd turned on the men and women he'd survived with during the war-- Leia wondered if he'd been one of those who'd ransacked the Temple and murdered thousands of innocents all in the name of the Sith.

“You’re a—“ she couldn’t even finish the sentence. What was a Clone doing with the Rebellion? If they showed their ability to use the Force would Rex kill them?

“Ah,” Rex looked slightly uncomfortable as he took in Luke and Leia’s scared faces. “You don’t need to look so terrified—“

“I’m not scared!” Leia couldn’t help but argue despite her hands clenching around the medical bed’s sheets in a death grip.

Rex shot her a look that screamed 'yeah right'. He pointed to a scar on his temple. It was a thin, white line, akin to one left from surgery.“You see this? I had my chip taken out— I’m no more dangerous than either of you.”

“But— you still—“

“No, I didn’t. I had my chip taken out shortly after the order was made to kill the Jedi and before I could hurt anyone. In fact, the only people I did kill that night were my own brothers.”

“You did?” Leia’s mouth felt dry. She’d always known the tragedy of the Clones— Obi-Wan hadn’t known the in-and-out details of what had occurred but he’d doubted that their betrayal was something that had been in their control. They’d gone from friends of the Jedi to slaughtering them in the matter of seconds. And now they paraded around in Stormtrooper uniforms, being replaced by younger and non-identical people as more and more of the Clones died out.

There was something dark in Rex’s eyes as he nodded his head. “Yes. That day was the worst of my life. Three years of War could not compare to the horror of what happened that day.”

Silence stretched on, an uncomfortable feel to the air around them.

Perhaps she shouldn’t have asked but curiosity gripped at Leia. The night of the Jedi Purge had occurred a few days before their birth. The Holonet was gripped underneath Palpatine’s deformed hands and all information of that day painted the Jedi as traitors who deserved what happened to them. And they’d been too young for Obi-Wan to tell them more than a simple “the Jedi were innocent.”

“What happened?”

For a second, Rex looked like he wasn’t going to answer. He turned his head to the side and gripped his hands together, letting out a shaky breath. “The Emperor made the call. It was called Order 66 and it ruled the Jedi as traitors who needed to be exterminated. It was like . . . a haze being pulled over our eyes. We knew what we were doing but we couldn’t do anything to stop ourselves from doing it.

“I was on a ship heading towards Coruscant when Order 66 was called. I—I tried to kill my friend, a former Jedi, but she managed to escape. I won’t lie, some of the events from that day are a little hazy to me. I don’t remember much from before she got the chip out of my brain.”

“It was the chips that made you do it?” Luke frowned. He looked appalled and interested at the same time.

Rex nodded. “As foetuses we were given inhibitor chips that the Sith then used to control us. It was a cruel plot from the very start. We were bred to fight . . . and then to betray.”

Leia looked at the haunted look in Rex’s eyes and she just knew how much he’d lost and how much he’d been hurt by the Emperor’s plot for a Galactic takeover. He’d been nothing but a pawn, bred into a life of War and forced to lose those he cared about all for one man’s gain.

For three years the Clones had fought diligently with the Jedi and then one day, Palpatine forced them to become minions for him and betray the Government they’d been fighting to protect. And the Emperor honestly didn’t care that he’d destroyed lives to do it. Rex wasn’t a robot; he wasn’t an emotionless thing— he felt and he cared and he’d _lost_.

Because of Palpatine.

“Hey you two,” the medic Leia had heard earlier, walked over. She was a middle aged woman with her blonde hair tied up into a bun and there was a slightly weathered look about her. Yet she smiled down at the twins, completely unaware of the glum mood. “Its good to see you awake. How do you feel?”

Emotionally? Leia wanted to say: _broken_. “Good; a lot better actually, thank you.”

“You need to be careful with your arm, Princess,” the medic warned. “It was close to infection. I’m prescribing you meds to help heal it up and you’ll need to come back to have the bacta under your bandage redressed. Okay?”

Leia nodded, “okay.”

“And you—“ the medic looked at Luke. “Need to eat more. I don’t know what crazy diet you’ve been on but you were badly malnourished when you came in here. Your had should heal in a few days and I’ll see you soon to get that cast off.”

“Thanks Doc,” the twins spoke in unison.

With the medic breaking the sorrowful mood, Rex clapped his hands with a small smile. “Alright, who wants some food?” At his words, both Luke and Leia’s stomachs grumbled.

* * *

After a week of snacking on ration bars, finally being able to eat a full meal had been all the twins needed to feel rejuvenated. Although they would both admit Aunt Beru’s home-cooked lunch had been far tastier.

Now walking around the base with full bellies and their injuries properly bandaged up, for the first time in a week, they felt like they had a spring in their step.

“So how long have you been with the Rebellion?” Leia asked as Rex gave them a tour of the base. Neither Luke nor Leia had the courage to tell the elder man they’d already lapped the place at least two times— and anyway, they enjoyed Rex’s company. He was friendly, treating them like one of his own and there was no awkwardness between them.

“About a year,” Rex replied. “We were shinies just like you.”

“Shinies?” Luke frowned.

“Its what we called newbies during the War. Because the Clones fresh from Kamino had clean, undamaged armour.”

The twins shared a look. Spending all this time with Rex had made them extremely aware of the fact that the Clones commissioned by the Republic to fight their battles were actual people. They weren’t just men copy and pasted from a factory nor were they flesh and bone robots. Rex and his brothers had been people who’d cracked jokes, had feelings and fought for the Republic because that was what they'd thought had been the right thing to do.

It made both Luke and Leia sad to know that the millions of men Palpatine had put a hand in creating, were all cast aside like junk once they’d done what they’d been made for.

“How many of your brothers are here, on the base?” Luke asked as they passed by one of the few communal rooms.

“Just two: Gregor and Wolffe,” Rex replied.

“Were they both from your battalion?”

“Uh, no,” Rex appeared uncomfortable but he pressed on. “None of my battalion survived— that I know of. I came across Gregor and Wolffe after the war ended.”

Luke nodded, hearing the sadness in Rex’s voice. He wondered how devastating it must’ve been to lose all those who he’d fought with over the years. Coupled with the fact that Luke knew Rex had killed a few of them in order to save his Jedi friend, he couldn’t even begin to understand how that must feel.

It must’ve been like losing Leia but a million times over and over again. (Luke couldn't even comprehend that sort of pain.)

“What was the war like?” Leia asked. Her voice was quiet and she understood the subject was incredibly sensitive. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to—“

“I was bred for war,” Rex said gruffly. There was a curtness in his voice now but it wasn’t unkind. “My entire existence was because of the war. I was taught to fight before I could walk, I knew how to shoot before I could talk. I didn’t have a childhood— not like what you two would’ve experienced.”

“That’s horrible.”

“Yes, but it was all I knew and granted there were some very bad and hard times but overall I was happy. I was doing what I had been bred for. Fighting was my purpose. My entire life was dedicated to defending and protecting the Republic. I lost many good men and many great brothers but they all died believing what they were fighting for was worth their sacrifice.”

Rex paused, a pained look coming across his face. “And then Order 66 was declared and it was revealed that everything had been for nothing. All my brothers who died— all those I cared about— were just pawns in the Sith’s game. Cody, Fives, Tup, Jesse, Hardcase, Kix, Echo, Dogma— what was it for? What were their lives lost for? _This?”_

Neither Luke nor Leia knew what to say. At least here, with the Rebellion, they knew what they were fighting for was real. The Sith were exposed and the Rebel Alliance was working to bring them and the Empire down. But the Clones— Rex’s brothers— had been lied to. The Jedi had been lied to.

They’d fought and risked their lives for the Republic's security, completely unaware that they were all leading towards a Sith victory. Palpatine’s victory.

The Clone Wars had been a sham that only the history books could see.

“I didn’t know your brothers,” Leia didn’t know if she should just stay quiet but she wanted the sad look in Rex’s eyes to go away. “But I think they’d be proud of you. That you were honouring their memories by not sitting back and letting the Sith make their sacrifices be in vain.”

Rex appeared thoughtful for a second, pausing in his step to place a hand on Leia’s shoulder. “You know, you remind me of a Senator I once knew.”

Leia wondered if he meant Bail Organa or someone else.

Luke had just opened his mouth to try and steer the conversation away to something lighter when Rex’s comlink buzzed. A voice patched through a second later, sounding a lot like Rex himself. “Hey Rex, thought you would wanna know: she’s back.”

“Thanks Wolffe, I’ll be right there.” Rex’s mood seemed to light immediately. “Come on you two, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Uh, who’s she?” Luke asked, trying to keep up with Rex’s longer strides. They were heading back towards the hangar and Rex was walking with sudden purpose. He seemed excited all of a sudden.

“A friend,” Rex spoke rather vaguely.

Once they reached the hangar, the twins spotted a ship that had just touched down. A few Rebels were unloading crates and others were rushing around to fix a few of the damages sustained in what had clearly been a space fight.

‘ _Do you have any idea who we’re waiting for?’_ Luke sounded a little annoyed through their bond. Rex was completely oblivious to their private conversation, his eyes glued to the ship as he waited for someone to exit.

 _‘How would I know?’_ Leia shot back.

After the last crate was unloaded from inside the ship, a woman finally walked down the ramp to the ground below. She was a middle-aged Togruta female whose montrals ran all the way down her back and over her shoulders. There were white marking on her face and her eyes were a light blue. There was an air of importance surrounding her and she held herself with finesse but when she smiled, her entire face lit up and she looked suddenly years younger.

“Rex!” She called out, her smile seeming to get wider. The elder man walked over towards her and they embraced like old friends. There was familiarity between them and Leia knew, blood or not, these two were family.

 _‘Should we walk over?’_ Luke looked awkward as he shuffled his feet. They were a good few metres from where Rex and the woman were talking and by standing so far away, it made them look uncomfortable. Leia was about to move and walk over for an introduction when her foot paused in the air.

‘ _Luke, look at her belt!’_

Luke’s eyes widened as spotted what Leia was staring at. Two lightsabers hung from the woman’s belt. _‘She’s a . . . Jedi?’_

_‘She might not be a Jedi!’_

_‘She has lightsabers though— she can obviously use the Force!’_

Leia frowned, repeating what she’d done earlier as she closed her eyes and stretched out with the Force. The invisible hand moved towards where the woman stood, gently and tenderly reaching out to see if this woman really was a Jedi like Luke assumed.

The invisible hand was instantly met with a wall, blockading Leia’s mind probe. So she was definitely Force sensitive. Only someone who could use the Force could shield their mind so expertly, Obi-Wan had said so himself when he’d taught the twins how to do it themselves.

Leia wasn’t really sure why she kept pressing or why the invisible hand pushed on the woman’s walls but like a light-bulb being turned on, acknowledgement flashed from the woman. Leia’s eyes opened like she’d been shocked, blinking quickly. When she looked up, she noticed Rex’s friend staring right at her with an expression of disbelief and confusion.

Not hesitating, Leia reached out for Luke’s arm and turned them towards the exit. Neither of them stopped when Rex called out their names.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guess who Rex's IV-fainting-refuses-medical-help friend was?


	18. Mercy Missions, Revelations and Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is slightly longer because the first half felt too short to post so enjoy reading :)
> 
> Also, TCW Season One 'Defenders of Peace' storyline has always been one I liked and I couldn't help but add it in :)

It wasn’t that Luke or Leia had run away from whoever Rex’s friend was as such— they were just cautious to keep their distance from who they believed was a possible Jedi. They were being hunted down by the Empire, the Emperor knew the truth about them and Vader was out searching for his son— neither of them were in a position to make friends with a Jedi. It wasn’t the time to be acknowledging their Force potential nor being talked into training. They had to remain inconspicuous.

And being (or befriending) a Jedi was like dangling themselves under the Sith’s noses.

After the incident in the hangar, Luke and Leia did their best to try and avoid whoever the Togruta woman was. It wasn’t hard for she seemed to lock herself up in her quarters for hours on end and wouldn’t leave until near night-time to grab some food.

When asked about what she was doing, Rex had said his friend was meditating. Ahsoka was what he called her: Ahsoka Tano. The name sounded familiar, like they’d heard it a long time ago but there was no recognition on either Luke or Leia’s part.

Despite the whole incident with Ahsoka, the twins found themselves settling into the Rebellion with ease. Leia’s position as a Princess and Bail Organa’s daughter brought her a lot of respect from the adults and she was encouraged to join in the meetings with the leaders. Everyone seemed to forget her age when they agreed with the ideals and propositions she brought forward.

And Luke found solace with the pilots of the Rebellion, being welcomed into Wedge’s Red Squadron with a pat on the back and a smile. A quick test flight had proven Luke’s ability and before he’d even landed back on the base he’d been gifted the moniker Red Five.

Things seemed to be looking up and in the week that they’d spent with the Rebellion, they found themselves feeling useful and accepted amongst all their new friends. No one seemed to question Luke or Leia’s friendship (although they did get an odd look whenever they were seen giggling at dinner) yet at every turn they insisted they were friends.

 _‘You know,’_ Leia spoke to her brother through their bond. They were currently stocking up a ship with crates of supplies for a mercy mission they’d agreed to go on since Rex was taking the lead. _‘I bet they all think we’re dating. Or something ridiculous as that.’_

Luke crinkled up his nose in disgust as he helped Leia carry the last crate onto the ship. _‘I guess I can see why but yuck— no, just no.’_

Leia shook her head with a smile as she walked down the boarding ramp back onto the hangar. The ship was being topped up with fuel to survive the journey so they had a few minutes to spare before the mission went underway.

“Leia!” General Willard walked forward, his smile still in place as he gave her a quick hug. “I wanted to come and see you off. You promise to be careful now, yes?”

“Of course! When have I ever not been careful?” She gave the elder man a cheeky smile to which he rolled his eyes with much amusement. In the past week General Willard had been looking out for her like a grandfather would his grandchild. It was one of the many reasons for why she’d been so well-accepted on the base as an honorary leader.

“I will be fine though,” Leia spoke with more seriousness. She could sense the elder man’s worry and she realised that he really did care for her. “It’s only a mercy mission; there’s no expectation for trouble.”

“I know,” General Willard sighed. “But the Empire is on edge these days. The kidnapping of the Imperial Prince and the heightened scrutiny looking for you has made the Empire double down on security. I fear it is too soon to send you off the base.”

“I agreed to go on this mission because I want to help. Staying cooped up here won’t do the Galaxy any good. And we’re just dropping off supplies for the people on Maridun— the Lurmen have suffered greatly because of the Empire.”

“I know, I know,” General Willard sighed again like he knew why Leia had to do it but not liking it anyway. “You must excuse an old man’s ability to worry.”

“I’ll be back in a day’s time,” Leia promised.

General Willard offered no other words, he just placed his hand on her shoulder for a second before turning to leave. Leia could still sense his worry as he went.

“Oi Princess!” Wolffe yelled out for Leia at the top of the boarding ramp. She’d met Rex’s brothers several times over the past week but it still took her a second to adjust to their identical features. Wolffe was the more aggressive one out of the three Clones; he had short, white hair and his right eye was completely blind, with a white line going down over it to suggest how he’d lost his sight. Yet Leia liked him.

“We’re leaving in 5!” Wolffe yelled. “So grab Lars for take-off!”

Leia nodded, turning around on her heel to try and find Luke. It only took a second for she followed their link to find her brother near the hangar exit, where he stood talking to two boys. One of them Leia recognised to be Wedge Antilles, Luke’s closest friend par her and the Clones on the base. The other, however, Leia had never seen before.

The absence of Artoo and Threepio by Luke’s side didn’t go unnoticed by Leia as she moved closer to her brother and his friends. They’d had an argument with both droids last night when the twins had revealed the plans about the mercy mission they’d agreed to go on and that Artoo and Threepio weren’t allowed to come. The mission was meant to be simple with no need for droids so it would just be added cargo to bring them along.

However, Artoo and Threepio had not taken kindly to that and if Leia knew her droids, no doubt they were sulking in her or Luke’s quarters.

“I hate to interrupt,” she adopted her best Princess voice as she reached Luke. “But we’re leaving in 5 so it’s time to go.”

Luke nodded, turning back to Wedge and the other boy. “I’ll see you guys in a day’s time, then. Don’t have too much fun without me!”

Wedge laughed, patting Luke on the shoulder. “I should be saying that to you. I know it’s only a mercy mission but stay on guard, yeah? The Empire is on edge at the moment.”

“And if the Imps give you any trouble, don’t hesitate to shoot first and ask questions later,” the new boy smirked. He was a Keshiri male, with deep purple skin and long black hair he’d tied up into a bun. His features resembled that of a human and he had broad shoulders with a human-like physique.

“Princess,” the Keshiri man nodded his head in Leia’s direction. He looked to be in his early twenties and there was something about him that Leia found herself disliking. She didn’t know why. “It’s an honour to meet you.”

“Leia this is Tripp Vero, he joined the Rebellion two days ago.” Luke smiled at the two of them. It seemed where Leia found herself on edge over the new boy, Luke had accepted him whole-heartedly. “He was made Red Ten this morning.”

“Pleasure,” Leia nodded back at the man, although she kept her voice tight. Tripp just smiled at her like he had no idea of her reservations towards him. “Luke, we should go.”

Luke spoke his last goodbyes to his friends before following Leia towards the ship Rex was waiting for them by. _‘You didn’t like Tripp,’_ he spoke through their bond as they smiled at Rex and boarded. The boarding ramp pulled up after them. It wasn’t a question Luke sent to his sister but a statement.

_‘There’s something about him that I don’t like.’_

_‘Tripp’s nice! And he’s a good pilot.’_

_‘Being a good pilot doesn’t equate to being a good man, Luke.’_

_‘I know that! But he really is nice Leia; you should get to know him when we’re back from the mission. I trust him— why can’t that be enough?’_

Leia didn’t reply, instead crossing her arms and pushing the thoughts from her mind. Her instincts were hardly ever wrong when it came to judging someone’s character but she guessed Tripp was here with the Rebellion so how bad could he be? And Luke really did seem to trust him (although Luke was too trusting for his own good).

Once the boarding ramp was up and the door’s to the ship closed, Wolffe gave Luke and Leia a one-eyed eye roll, talking into his comlink. “The twins are finally onboard; we’re ready to depart.”

 _‘Did he just say—‘_ Luke sounded breathless.

Leia let out an awkward laugh, her mind whirring like it was out of control. As good as her lying abilities were, she felt suddenly caught off-guard. “We aren’t— uh, what? We aren’t twins?” Her voice sounded strained.

Luke forced out a laugh as well, his jarred voice making Wolffe raise his eyebrows. “Ha ha! Why would you, uh, say that? We really aren’t— we’re friends! Just—“

“Wolffe!” Rex walked into the cargo hold where they all stood, giving his brother a look. “Stop teasing them.”

Wolffe scoffed. “You two are practically inseparable— it was just a joke.” He eyed them warily, obviously questioning their reactions to his joke.

“Twins,” Luke puffed out a breath, just trying to act casual. He swallowed heavily, making Wolffe raise his eyebrows once again. “That’s, uh, so crazy!”

‘ _Luke, shut up.’_

He snapped his mouth closed immediately. An awkward silence filled the air around them, broken only when Rex clapped his hands as he wiped his curious look off his face. “Let’s get out of the cargo hold. We’ll arrive on Maridun in about three hours time. There’s about one bed on this ship if either of you want to catch a nap?”

Both Luke and Leia shook their head, following Rex and Wolffe to the small communal area. The ship wasn’t large, it was just a standard one for small missions such as the one they were on; all it had was a large cargo hold to hold whatever necessary supplies there were and there was only one bed. As they entered the communal area, there were only two small sofas lining the walls and a small dejarik table in the corner, they found Gregor sitting on a stool as he read from a data-pad.

Gregor was Rex’s other brother. He looked exactly the same, feature wise, to his two Clone brothers but there was a softness to his face that was missing from both Wolffe and Rex’s. Rex had explained once that Gregor had suffered from amnesia during the war, meaning he’d missed out on nearly two years of the fighting. Both Luke and Leia guessed that was reason for why he seemed so much calmer than his warrior brothers.

“How’re you two?” Gregor smiled at them, putting his data-pad down. The thing Leia loved the most about Rex and his brothers was how they treated her. Where most saw her as a Princess only, they saw the person she was as well.

In the short week that the twins had been with the Rebellion, the Clones had practically taken Luke and Leia under their wing.

“Good,” Luke smiled at Gregor as they sat down on the sofa. He felt the familiar tug of hyperspace pull the ship forward just as a question popped up in his brain. “Wait— who’s flying??”

“Well, it was me,” a voice sounded as a Togruta woman climbed down the ladder which led to the cockpit. Both Luke and Leia froze when they recognised Rex’s friend and they wondered how they hadn’t sensed or known she was coming on this mission. For a week they’d done their best to avoid her and now they were stuck on the same ship.

“Uh, hi,” Luke cleared his throat, fidgeting around in his seat. To say this situation was awkward was an understatement.

“So,” the woman crossed her arms but not with an unkind look. “You two are the ones who’ve been trying to avoid me. Rex has told me a lot about you; I’m Ahsoka Tano, by the way.”

Leia swallowed down her awkwardness, plastering on her best Princess face. Bail had once told her that confidence was the key to everything. “We know. We apologise for our behaviour. I’m Princess Leia Organa and this is my friend, Luke Lars.”

Ahsoka hummed. “Leia Organa . . . I knew your father, Bail, well. He was the one who introduced me to the Rebellion. I was sorry to hear of his passing. Whenever we met, he always spoke so highly of you. It’s a pleasure to finally meet his daughter.”

Leia nodded, feeling her confidence get swallowed slightly by Ahsoka’s words. But Ahsoka didn’t seem to notice for she turned to Luke with a curious look.

“Luke Lars,” she hummed once more. “I hope you don’t mind me asking Luke but who was your father?”

The question seemed to stump Luke and he was acutely aware of the fact that everyone’s eyes were on him. The fidgeting returned as he swallowed heavily, trying to sound as believable as possible when he lied. “Uh, my father was a moisture farmer on Tatooine.”

“You are from Tatooine?” Ahsoka’s eyebrows raised.

“Yeah,” Luke shrugged. “You know the place?”

Ahsoka nodded, a dark look crossing her face. “I’ve been there once, yes. I can’t say my memories are very pleasant.”

Luke chuckled, understanding her meaning. “Trust me, one of the best days of my life was when I got off that dustball.”

“What’s so bad with Tatooine?” Gregor spoke up, looking curious. Luke just scoffed at the man’s words.

“You wouldn’t ask that if you’d been there. The place is a hell-hole.”

“Its controlled by the Hutts,” Ahsoka added. “My older brother came from Tatooine and he despised the place like no other.”

“Your older brother?” Leia couldn’t help but ask. She didn’t miss how Rex closed his eyes for a second, a look of mourning crossing his features. But Ahsoka kept her head up straight even though Leia could sense a hint of loss come from the woman.

“Yes; he wasn’t my brother by blood. He was actually my Jedi Master during the Clone Wars but family means more than blood.”

Leia shared a look with her brother, feeling a shiver run up her spine. So they’d been correct: Ahsoka was a Jedi. They could only hope she didn’t sense their Force potential— that would be hard to explain. Almost instinctively, both Luke and Leia raised their mind shields just how Obi-Wan had taught them.

“You’re a Jedi, then?” Leia tried to keep her voice even.

Ahsoka frowned. “Not anymore.”

There was obviously a story behind Ahsoka’s statement but neither of the twins had time to ask for Ahsoka suddenly announced she needed to meditate, leaving the communal area without another word.

Both Luke and Leia shared a look, knowing there was more to Ahsoka than they’d originally believed.

* * *

Just as Rex had promised, it took three hours to reach Maridun. It was a small planet in the Outer Rim— one often ignored by the Empire. Mostly agricultural land, there weren’t many people living on the planet other than the native Lurmen.

The Lurmen were small creatures, covered head-to-toe in fur. They had large eyes and bushy tails and tended to shy away from confrontations. They were peaceful people dressed in simple clothes who used the fallen seed pods from trees to build their villages. And in the decade that the Empire had been founded, nearly all the supplies Maridun was known for had been stripped and stolen.

Which was why the Rebellion provided the Lurmen with essentials so the Empire couldn’t push the peaceful people towards extinction.

“It’s just so cruel,” Leia couldn’t help but say as the ship landed near the edge of the Lurmen village. She could see many of them coming out of their huts from the window, all of them looking slightly ravaged and in need of the supplies being brought to them. “How does the Empire get away with this?”

“Because it isn’t front page news,” Wolffe sounded just as angry as Leia felt. “No Imps care about what the Empire does to people like the Lurmen. They could burn this village down to the ground and it wouldn’t even be mentioned on the Holonet.”

Rex nodded. “The Empire doesn’t like to publicise their barbarity— and if they do, they twist it to either blame the Rebels or paint the innocents to be war-mongers in need of liberation.”

“This planet is just one of many,” Gregor sighed as they made their way to the cargo hold and the exit. “The Empire has stripped Maridun of all the resources they need and they’ve left the Lurmen living there to die. This settlement is the last of the Lurmen— their home planet of Mygeeto has already been ‘liberated’ as the Empire would say.”

Leia felt physically sick and judging from how Luke looked, he felt the same. _‘I knew the Empire was bad,’_ Luke sounded horrified through their bond as the boarding ramp lowered. _‘But I honestly never expected this.’_

 _‘You’re here now,’_ Leia reminded him. _‘You’re on the right side of history now.’_

Luke nodded but Leia could still sense his guilt. And she could understand for two weeks ago she’d been living in a position of privilege just like Luke. She’d never had to worry about going hungry and whilst Luke had been living with the side who were _doing this_ to innocent people all over the Galaxy, neither of them had done anything to help those people.

But now they were and there was no point dwelling on the past.

Grabbing a crate each, they followed the Clones as they left the ship. They pushed the crates down towards the village, all of them floating slightly off-the ground so it wasn’t too hard to push.

“Saviours! Saviours!” A Lurmen male hobbled forwards towards the Clones and the twins as they entered the village. He didn’t seem that old but his fur was more white with speckles of brown and there was a slightly tired look to him. He wore a small necklace around his neck, like some sort of tribal crown to show he was the leader of this village.

“We have six months worth of supplies here,” Rex smiled down at the Lurmen. “If rationed it could possibly last eight months before we’d need to make another trip to you.”

Luke and Leia zoned out as Rex and his brothers started propping open the crates to explain exactly what they’d brought. The village was rather small and the seed pods used as huts looked a little destroyed like some sort of confrontation had occurred. Lurmen poked their heads out of their homes, some looking frightened at the newcomers.

“I remember this village,” Ahsoka’s voice sounded from behind the twins. There was a sad look on her face as she surveyed the village around her. “It didn’t always look like this; it's just further evidence of the Empire’s destruction.”

“You’ve been here before?” Luke frowned but his question was drowned out by the Chief Lurmen when he spotted Ahsoka.

“Padawan Tano!” He hobbled over to Ahsoka, a smile on his face. “It pleases me to see you return. My people and I are grateful for all the help you’ve provided us in our time of need.”

Ahsoka smiled back. “Hello, Wag Too, its been a long time. This was the least the Rebellion could do— after all, it was you who extended me kindness first during the War.”

Wag Too nodded, looking slightly troubled. “Yes, I don’t think my father ever truly recovered after the battle in our village. But I believe it was because of your appearance that my people are still around today. In more ways than one, I thank you Padawan Tano.”

A female Lurmen came forwards, standing beside Wag Too with a kind look on her face. “You must stay for some food. As an offer of our thanks.”

“I could do with some grub!” Wolffe laughed, patting his stomach. His words made both Gregor and Rex roll their eyes. Ahsoka just smiled, nodding at the female Lurmen.

“Your offer is very kind, we’ll be happy to accept.”

“So you’ve been here before?” Leia asked Ahsoka as they followed the Lurmen towards a rather large pod seed, big enough for them all to fit in. “During the War?”

Ahsoka nodded, a sad look crossing her face. “Our ship crash landed and my Master was injured. I didn’t want to leave his side but another Jedi, Ayala Secura, told me that leaving him to find help would be the only way to save him. We found this village and Wag Too agreed to help heal my Master.”

“How did he get hurt?” Luke asked.

A small smile flitted across Ahsoka’s face. “By doing what he always did: saving others.”

“He sounds like a brave man,” Leia hoped to be friendly. Despite their early reservations about Ahsoka’s Jedi past, both twins had agreed she was a nice person who they liked. “I can see why you were close. I’m guessing he survived his injuries?”

“Yes, Wag Too did all he could to cure my Master and he was in fighting condition within a matter of hours. Although he should’ve been resting still,” Ahsoka scoffed lightly. “He always tried to power through any injury he obtained. Only when he was knocked unconscious would he rest.”

Leia laughed, knowing she was much the same. “You know, he sounds like someone Rex told me about on the day we met. He said he had a friend who got shot during the War and refused help until he almost fainted.”

A weird look crossed Ahsoka’s face as they entered the Lurmen’s hut. It was cosy and warm with soft blankets lined up on the floor for them to sit on. The smell of food wafted in the air and whilst it was something neither the twins had had before, it smelt nice.

“Rex didn’t tell you how we know each other did he?” Ahsoka raised her eyebrows up at the Clone as he sat down on the blanket opposite them. The Lurmen went to the small pot by the back that sat on a warm fire as they stirred the food and dished it out.

“They didn’t ask!” Rex shrugged. He smiled when Wag Too handed him a bowl of the food.

Ahsoka turned back to the twins as they were handed their own bowls. It was hot but whatever it was tasted good. “Rex was the Captain of the 501st Legion during the Clone Wars. I was his Commander and my Master was his Jedi General. We fought together for under 3 years.”

“Oh,” Luke didn’t find himself surprised. It made sense with how friendly Rex and Ahsoka were and given the twins knew of Ahsoka’s Jedi past, it wasn’t new information to find out she’d been a Commander during the war.

“Weren’t you a little young to be fighting in a war?” Leia frowned. She didn’t know Ahsoka’s true age but she doubted she’d been much older than them when the war had broken out.

Ahsoka shrugged, taking a spoonful of the soup the Lurmen had provided them. “I was fourteen when the war started and seventeen when it ended.”

“You fought in a war at _fourteen_?” Luke’s mouth fell open in shock as he turned to Rex. “And you allowed this? She was a child soldier!”

Rex pointed his spoon in Luke’s direction. “Hey, it wasn’t up to me to decide if Ahsoka joined in the war effort or not— that was the Jedi’s decision. But I will say that despite her age, Ahsoka was tough. She was a good Commander.”

Ahsoka smiled at Rex’s praise. “Someone wise once said: ‘experience outranks everything’.”

“I wonder who that wise person was?” Rex teased.

After a few seconds of silence with all of them eating happily and thanking the Lurmen for their hospitality, Ahsoka spoke up once again. “I want to apologise to you two. I don’t think I gave you a very warm welcome when Rex tried to introduce us a week ago. I know you’ve been avoiding me because of it.”

The twins shared a look, both of them brushing it off. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Ahsoka carried on like they’d not spoken. “Its just— I sensed you were Force-sensitive: the both of you. You try to hide it but I can still sense it. You’re very powerful with the Force. And you— well, you remind me of my Master a little bit.”

“I think you’re confused,” Leia jumped in, doing her best to try and steer Ahsoka away from the truth. “I’m not Force-sensitive—“

“You don’t need to lie,” Ahsoka shook her head. “I can sense the truth that you are. It isn’t a crime to be able to use the Force, although the Empire will argue otherwise. I could sense it from the moment our eyes met and I know it was you who tried to push past my shields.”

“I’ll admit,” Ahsoka carried on. “I don’t know the truth about you two but I do know that even untrained, you’re powerful.”

“There’s no truth to know,” Luke shifted on his blanket-seat uncomfortably. “Leia’s a Princess and I’m a farm-boy— whatever potential you sense is unknown to us.”

Ahsoka looked at them like she didn’t truly believe them. Although, Leia had to admit that her reservations were justified. Bail Organa having a Force-Sensitive daughter and that daughter becoming good friends with a nobody farm-boy who was just as equally Force-sensitive as her must seem rather strange. And too odd to be pure coincidence.

“Well,” Ahsoka seemed to let it go. “I do apologise. Where you’ve been trying to avoid me, I’ve done some avoiding of my own.”

Luke realised that Ahsoka’s hour long mediations in her room at the base must’ve been their fault.

Not wanting her to feel bad, Luke tried to change the conversation. He took a sip of his soup. “What was your Master like? They don’t teach much about Jedi these days.”

“No, they don’t,” Ahsoka agreed. There was a nostalgic look in her eyes as she spoke. “There was no one like my Master. He was the bravest and most caring Jedi that I knew. There was nothing he couldn’t do and he was the best teacher; the only reason I’m still alive is because of his teachings.”

“I’m sure he’d be proud of you.”

“I hope so. My Master was unlike any Jedi— he was fearless and he would go to any length to secure peace. He was brash at times and he cared a little too much but he was still the best and most powerful Jedi that I knew.”

“How can you care _too_ much?” Leia frowned, taking a sip of the soup. It was warm as it ran down her tongue. “Surely caring too little is more of a fault?”

“The Jedi Code stated that Jedi were meant to be selfless and not grow attached. We were meant to care but not about individuals or too much on one thing. My Master could never accept that: he was not Temple-raised and he experienced life outside of the Order for years. He grew attached too easy and found it difficult to let go. Sometimes that came in handy— there was a time when I sacrificed myself to blow up a Weapons Factory. I survived and it was because of his inability to let go that he searched for me until I was found.

But other times,” Ahsoka sighed, looking down. “I fear that his emotions controlled him. He could be unpredictable and there were many who didn’t trust him.”

“I still don’t think caring too much is a crime,” Leia could remember saying the same things to Obi-Wan once when he’d explained much what Ahsoka had just done. But she couldn’t remember what Obi-Wan had said back.

“No,” Ahsoka agreed. “I don’t either. It’s one of the reasons for why I chose to leave the Jedi. There’s much about the Order that was questionable, near the end. But I will admit that sometimes the Jedi did have a point: anger and fear are pathways to the Dark Side.”

“And your Master went down that path?” Luke frowned, thinking of his own Dad. Obi-Wan had recounted story after story where Anakin had been unable to let go of his anger or frustrations— especially during the war. It sounded like Ahsoka’s Master was much the same.

“No,” Ahsoka was quick to argue. “I don’t think my Master was capable of that. There was too much good in him. He was a good person, I know that.”

“And you saw him like an older brother?” Leia smiled at Ahsoka, feeling sad for her loss. Ahsoka and her Master might not have been blood but they’d cared for each other just how Obi-Wan had cared for the twins.

“He raised me for nearly three years,” Ahsoka nodded. “And he was the only person who stood by me near the end.”

Leia was about to speak up and ask what she meant when Rex spoke instead. He shook his head with a melancholic look as he smiled like one would thinking of a happy memory.

“There really was no better Jedi than General Skywalker.”

Both Luke and Leia dropped their bowls, feeling like the world had spun on its axis.

* * *

_‘Did he just say—‘_

_‘No.’_

_‘He just said—‘_

_‘No! It can’t be!’_

Leia cleared her throat, feeling like someone just punched the air out of her chest. Luke’s bowl had slipped from his hands and Wag Too’s wife had bounded forwards to clear up the mess. Out of everything Leia had expected, neither her nor Luke had expected their _father_ to be the person Ahsoka and Rex fondly recalled.

“Did you just say Skywalker?” Leia swallowed tightly when Luke numbly apologised to the Lurmen female. Both Ahsoka and Rex were eyeing the twins warily but neither seemed to have figured out the truth behind their distress.

“As in Anakin Skywalker?” Luke piped up, his voice sounding sore. He placed his hand to his head, feeling like a headache was brewing. His bacta-cast had been taken off a day ago, leaving his fist feeling brand new with only the faint bruise on his knuckles. “The Hero With No Fear?”

Ahsoka laughed, seeming to chalk their distress up to surprise only. “His reputation proceeds him. Yes my Master was that very Skywalker. He’d find it hilarious that talk of Jedi is now taboo yet two teenagers still know about him and his reputation.”

 _‘We only know because he’s our kriffing father,’_ Luke mumbled to his sister through their bond.

Leia cleared her throat again, trying to school her expression to hide her true shock. “He was infamous,” she forced an awkward laugh. The hut suddenly seemed to be caving in on her and the air grew stuffy and hot. For a second, Leia felt like she couldn’t breathe.

Breathing in a few times and trying to calm down, Leia quickly thought of a lie. “Actually, I know of him because of my father. He spoke about Skywalker’s abilities and exploits during the war. My father said he was quite the warrior.”

It wasn’t technically a lie.

“That he was,” Rex smiled. “There was nothing General Skywalker couldn’t do.”

“You said that the Jedi didn’t trust him?” Luke frowned, recovering slightly. Obi-Wan had something of that effect once but never so explicitly.

“Many thought he was too unpredictable, yes. And that he didn’t follow the Code like he should.”

Wolffe barked a laugh, finally joining in the conversation. “I never knew Skywalker personally but I heard all the gossip about him and that Nubian Senator!”

“Yes,” Ahsoka smiled to herself, looking down. “Anakin did have a soft spot for Padme Amidala.”

“Excuse me,” Leia suddenly stood up, feeling light-headed as she went. “I need some air.” She didn’t wait to hear anything else as she stumbled out of the hut, the fresh air hitting her like a slap to the face. The stuffiness of the hut faded away as she moved several feet before plopping herself down on the soil behind another pod in the village.

Her head felt like it was spinning so Leia drew her knees close to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Her head rested on her knees and Leia sensed, more than heard, Luke as he walked towards her.

“Breathe Leia,” he spoke quietly as he took a seat on the ground beside her. “Just breathe.” She did as he told her, taking a few minutes to calm herself down.

When she looked back up, her eyes meeting her brother’s bright blue, it took all her strength to push down the threatening tears. “They were talking about him. All this time— it was him.”

The memories of Rex’s nostalgic stories about the General he served in the war and the friend he’d bonded with, all came flooding back to Leia. He’d said his General had been the best of the best and that he’d been a good man with a big heart. Ahsoka had said her Master had been the best teacher she could’ve had and that the only reason she was alive was because of him.

“They don’t know,” was all she said.

“They don’t need to know,” Luke shot back.

“Everything that they said; all the stories they shared about how great he was and how courageous he was— and they don’t know! They don’t know what he did! Who he became!” Leia found herself becoming more and more agitated as she angrily wiped the tears that leaked from her eyes.

She just couldn’t understand how the man from Ahsoka and Rex’s stories could’ve become the monster he was today. It was a question she always found herself stumped on and whilst she always held Anakin Skywalker close to her heart, she found herself so angry at him for all he’d done as well. Not only had he destroyed Luke and Leia’s family but he’d broken Ahsoka and Rex’s hearts too— or at least he would when they one day discovered the truth.

( _“There’s good in him. I know, I know there’s still—“)_

Leia squeezed her eyes tight, trying to banish the thought.

“They’ll find out one day and when they do, they’ll hate him as much as I do,” Leia whispered, feeling agonised at the thought. “It’ll tarnish his memory.”

As much as she wanted Vader to be brought to justice, Leia didn’t want Anakin’s memory to be ruined either. Let there be one person who knew Anakin Skywalker personally and held that man to their hearts without any knowledge about the horrors he’d done.

“I know what he did and I don’t hate him,” Luke moved so he was sitting opposite his sister, placing his hands on her shoulders to try and ground her. “You don’t know how Ahsoka and Rex will react when they find out.”

“We can’t tell them,” Leia hissed. “We just can’t—“

“I agree.”

“Do you think Ahsoka knows where Obi-Wan is?”

Luke shook his head. “No. If she knew where he was, she would’ve known about us. And from the sounds of it, she didn’t even know that our parents were together-together. She just suspected something was going on.”

Leia looked back at the hut, the nausea that had been rising from before slowing going down. “I just had to get out of there. They were talking about _him_ and then they mentioned Mom and I just freaked.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself— not to me. I know.”

“Luke, what are we meant to do?” Leia felt a rush of adrenaline as her mind moved away from sadder thoughts and the shock wore away. She began pacing on the ground in front of Luke, not knowing any other way to expel her agitation and worry.

“About?”

“Ahsoka is suspicious, Luke!” Leia continued pacing, her voice raising slightly. “She knows we’re Force-sensitive and she suspects something— I know she does. She asked you who your father was back on the ship, for Stars sake! She’s curious about who we are!”

Luke rubbed his head, giving her a look. “Can you stop pacing for a second?” Leia ignored him. “Ahsoka has no evidence about who we are— you’re legally Bail Organa’s daughter and sure she might discover that I’m really Luke Vader but that won’t tie us to Anakin Skywalker or our Mother. No one knew Mom was pregnant when she was alive and they made it seem like we died too at her funeral.”

Leia paced up and down, unable to stop herself. “We look like our parents Luke; she even said that when she saw us— or more specifically: you— she thought she saw a ghost.”

“Looking like someone isn’t evidence of parentage.”

“But its a good reason to dig more deeply,” Leia pointed out. “And if the Emperor could discover the truth then I’m sure Ahsoka could.”

Luke clamped his mouth shut, looking away.

Leia felt a rise of frustration at the situation they’d found themselves in. “Ugh, I don’t believe this, I don’t believe this, I don’t believe this, I don’t—“

Luke groaned. “Leia, shut up! And will stop kriffing pacing!” At his yell, Leia paused, feeling breathless despite the small exertion of exercise. She sat back down on the ground, glaring at the tiny blades of grass beside her.

“Would it just be easier to tell the truth?” Luke whispered after a minute. “Save the hassle of her exposing us if we just tell her privately. And Rex too?”

“The whole point in us not going by our birth names is to remain inconspicuous! We don’t want that sort of attention!”

“I seriously doubt Ahsoka will shout it from the rooftops if we tell her. She cared about Dad— she wouldn’t do anything to put us at risk.”

Leia sighed, not wanting to admit that her brother was right. “I guess we can consider it. It would be good to have someone on our side who knows the whole truth and Ahsoka does seem like she’d be a cool Aunt.”

They were just heading back to the hut when Luke paused, his head jolting to the side like he’d sensed something bad. It was then that Leia felt it too.

_Danger. Danger. Run._

An ear-splitting shriek sounded behind them, the twins turning to see a massive bird-like creature baring its teeth at them a few metres away. It had a large body, at least twice the height of Luke and Leia, and its body was covered in thick feathers, acting like a protection. It was clearly a carnivorous animal for its teeth were long and sharp in its pointed beak. Its small eyes were a yellow-red colour, narrowed heavily as it glared at what it hoped to be its next meal.

“Good birdie, birdie, birdie,” Luke raised his hand, trying to calm the angry creature down. Whatever animal it was, it looked scary as it scraped one of its clawed feet on the ground like it was preparing to sprint.

And then suddenly it bounded towards the twins, its beak opening to expose the rows of sharp teeth it had. It made a loud noise, one of the nearby Lurmen having heard and running off to grab help. A second later and a siren-like sound surrounded the village, warning others about the attack.

Both Luke and Leia threw themselves to the ground as the creature came forwards, hitting the ground with a loud thud. Leia groaned as she landed on her freshly bandaged arm. The creature squawked again, choosing Luke as its target as it took another dive at the boy. Luke rolled to avoid being bitten.

Panic settled in Leia’s mind but she reached into her pocket and pulled out a blaster, wasting no time in shooting the creature in its back. It screamed loudly, its head tilting up as it yelled in pain, giving Luke a chance to escape.

But then the creature turned around to Leia, baring its teeth as it took off at a run to her. Normally, her aim was impeccable but in this instance, her senses failed her for the shots she took hit no where vital. She had to throw herself to the ground once again at last second as the creature came towards her.

“Leia!” Luke yelled as the creature slowed in its attack, prowling slowly to where Leia lay on the ground. She’d hit her head too hard when she’d hit the floor and a trickle of blood ran down her face from above her temple.

The creature seemed to know that Leia would be too slow to get up in time and run for it bared its teeth, moving in closer to her with slow deliberation. Luke closed his eyes, feeling desperation rise up as he stretched out a hand towards the offending animal.

Like a massive hand being extended from him, Luke used the Force to pick the creature up. It hovered a foot in the air, squawking indignantly as its four legs flailed, unable to move as Luke held it up.

Then he moved his hand sharply right, the animal following suit as it was thrown against the massive seed used as hut nearby. The creature fell to the ground, wounded from the force as it shakily rose to its feet. Luke picked the creature up once again and repeated the same action until the creature fell unconscious.

When Luke opened his eyes, he spotted Ahsoka, Rex and the other Clones standing beside the unconscious animal. Wag Too and several other Lurmen had arrived and were tying the creature up so when it awoke it wouldn’t be able to terrorise anyone again.

“What was that thing?” Luke took a second to find his voice as he moved on shaky feet to where Leia lay on the ground. Ahsoka was looking at him with an expression he couldn’t understand as she made her way over to Leia. She placed a hand on Leia’s cheek, a look of relief filling her eyes.

“That,” Rex pointed to the offending creature as the Lurmen finished tying it up. He pocketed the guns he’d been holding as he walked over. “Was a Mastiff Phalone— nasty little creatures they are.”

“You call it _little_?” Luke raised his eyebrows.

Leia suddenly groaned, opening her eyes a fraction. “What in all Corellian Hells just happened? I feel like I was hit on the head with a speeder.”

“Your head hit the ground too hard,” Ahsoka pressed her hand to Leia’s forehead, sensing for any more serious injuries. “You were knocked unconscious for a minute.”

Leia nodded at the words before her mind caught up to _why_ she’d been knocked unconscious. A loud gasp escaped her throat as she bolted upwards, feeling suddenly sick at the fast movement. Her vision blurred for a second and her body swayed, struggling to stay upright. “Where is that _thing_?”

“Leia, lay back down,” Ahsoka tried to push the girl’s shoulder down but Leia fought against her grip. “You might have a concussion.”

Leia continued to sway, feeling lightheaded and having to blink heavily to push away the threatening black-out she could feel coming. Her voice felt rough but she couldn’t rest for the agitation at being attacked by the creature once again was too consuming.

“I dealt with it Leia, lay back down,” Luke helped Ahsoka pull Leia to the ground so she could rest. At his words, she didn’t fight the grip anymore and her back rested on the hard ground, the dizziness slowly fading away.

“You— you did?”

Luke pointed to something on her left and when Leia slowly turned her head, she could just make out a large blob on the ground which she suspected was the creature that had been attacking them. The Lurmen wandered over, peering down at Leia with their large eyes.

“Bring her to my hut,” Wag Too instructed the group. “I can have her back in shape in no time.”

“No, no, I’m fine!” Leia tried to sit back up but the second her back left the ground, the dizziness span out of control and the darkness took over.

* * *

_Leia recognised where she was immediately: Naboo. The grass was just as green as she remembered, the sky just as blue and there was the familiar sounds of birds chirping in the distance. The sun was warm on her skin but there was a light breeze in the air, gently blowing at Leia’s hair._

_“Hello Leia,” a voice sounded behind her and when Leia turned around to face the speaker, she found herself face-to-face with her mother. Padme’s hair was loose, the curls falling down her shoulders and back with perfect grace as they framed her face. She was dressed in a dark blue dress and there was a necklace hanging around her neck with a small, wooden pendant at the bottom the chain._

_Leia took in a sharp breath, not knowing what to do or what to say. When she did finally speak, her voice sounded breathless. “Is this real?”_

_Padme smiled softly but no matter how much she smiled, her eyes still looked sad. She was just as beautiful as Leia had seen in holos but there was something broken about the expression on her mother’s face. And there were dried tear-tracks running down her cheeks._

_“I hope so,” Padme’s voice was soft and kind. “Although, I don’t think we’ll ever know.”_

_Leia took a step back, a cold feeling spreading in her stomach. “Am I dead?”_

_“Oh no, no, no; I wouldn’t be so happy to see you if you were. It isn’t your time yet Leia: it won’t be for a very, very, very long time.”_

_Something unclenched in Leia’s chest and she found herself pleased with that fact. Swallowing heavily, Leia took a step forwards towards where Padme stood. Leia noticed that the breeze didn’t gently ruffle Padme’s hair as it did her own._

_“Mom?”_

_“Yes, my darling?”_

_“I’m so sorry.”_

_“Whatever for?” Padme’s face crinkled in concern and she reached out a hand to press her palm against Leia’s cheek. Her hand felt feather-soft against Leia’s skin, almost like it wasn’t really there. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”_

_“I’m sorry that you died,” the words hitched in Leia’s throat._

_“That was not your fault, my darling.” Padme smiled softly once more but it didn’t reach her eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks and Leia realised that her mother didn’t even know she was crying._

_“But—“_

_“No buts,” Padme shook her head. “It was not your fault.”_

_She took in a shaky breath before asking: “Do you blame him?” There was no questioning who she was talking about._

_“Your father is a complicated man, Leia—“_

_“He strangled you!”_

_Leia’s fists clenched together and the memory of Vader’s attack on his wife filled her mind. She could see Padme’s eyes widening as her hands reached for her throat, unable to swallow in any air. She could hear Vader’s yell of **LIAR** like it was an echo in her mind._

_Two feather-light hands wrapped themselves around Leia’s fists, urging her to let go. When Leia blinked, she still saw her mother before her. But Padme wasn’t gasping for air on some lava planet, she was smiling sadly at her daughter in the dress she’d worn at her funeral._

_“My Ani is in there,” Padme’s voice was quiet but Leia was hooked onto every word she said. “I know it. He’s in there and he’s fighting to get out."_

_“Luke believes that.” Leia spoke without thinking._

_Padme smiled and this time it reached her eyes. “Ah yes, your brother reminds me a lot of myself. He’s been helping to bring the goodness out of Ani these last few years.”_

_Leia felt the urge to cry but she swallowed it down as she turned her head to the side. “I take after_ him _, don’t I?”_

_Her mother reached out, the feather-light fingers pulling Leia’s chin to look back at her. “That is a good thing, my darling. You have my Ani’s courage and determination. You have his heart and his strength.”_

_“He’s hurt so many people— including you, Mom.”_

_“I know but my love for your father has never wavered. Not even at the end.”_

_Leia’s breath caught in her throat. “So you forgive him?”_

_The sad look returned to Padme’s eyes and the tears once again fell without her knowing. “I know that the man he was before Palpatine’s manipulations would not have wanted this. He would’ve rather died than done what he did.”_

_“But he_ did _do it!” Leia stressed, feeling like she was talking to Luke whenever they argued over the exact same thing. “He’s committed so much evil!”_

_“And he’s paid for that.”_

_“How?”_

_“He lost me,” Padme spoke simply. “He lost you. And now he’s lost Luke.”_

_“He never deserved us.”_

_Padme sighed, looking away. “Maybe that is true for the man he was at the end. But the man I married— the man I know is still alive— he doesn’t deserve to be alone.”_

_“He’s still a murderer.”_

_“And he’s still your father.”_

_The words weren’t harsh but they were true and that simple fact made Leia feel like she’d been slapped. For so long she’d been trying to deny to herself that Darth Vader was her father. She’d happily accept Anakin Skywalker shared her blood but she’d argue until her last breath that her father died days before her birth._

_Padme suddenly smiled and she placed her hands on the flatness of her stomach where her bump should’ve been. “You know, my Ani desperately wanted a girl. I was convinced that I was carrying a boy, however. We used to argue for hours about the gender of our child. He would’ve been so happy to discover we were both right. He would’ve loved you so much Leia— he will love you when he knows about you.”_

_Leia stilled. “I don’t want him to know about me.”_

_“You cannot fight your parentage.”_

_When Leia didn’t reply, Padme spoke again. “Do not hate him, my darling.”_

_Again, Leia didn’t reply but she felt a tugging in the corner of her mind and when she looked over at her mother, Padme was fading slightly. Panic gripped her and Leia felt the tears roll down her cheeks. “Mom?”_

_A pair of feather-light lips pressed against Leia’s forehead as Padme disappeared into a glow of light. “If you must remember one thing Leia, remember this: I will always love my darling twins.” The words echoed around in Leia’s mind as the light suddenly stretched to surround the entire of Naboo._

_And then Leia woke up._

* * *

“How you feeling?” Rex handed Leia another cup of water as she rested on the sofa. Wag Too had put some kind of leaf and gel on Leia’s head after she’d passed out for the second time and forty minutes later she’d woken up with nothing but a headache and her concussion gone.

“Better,” Leia admitted, taking a sip of water under Rex’s watchful gaze. The other Clones, Ahsoka and Luke were preparing the ship for take-off whilst Rex watched over Leia in the communal area. She’d tried to insist that she was well enough to help out but both Ahsoka and Rex had been hearing none of it.

Ahsoka’s voice came through Rex’s comlink. “We’re all ready to go. How’s Leia?”

“Better!” Leia spoke loud enough for Ahsoka to hear.

“You heard her,” Rex chuckled. His light-heartedness instantly disappeared when Leia tried to get up from her seat. “Sit down.” She just rolled her eyes and complied, knowing there was no way she would be able to do anything with Rex as her prison warden.

“Where’s Luke?” Rex asked when the ship rumbled to life, preparing to leave Maridun.

There was a slight exasperation in Ahsoka’s voice when she answered. “In the cockpit with me. He almost begged me to let him fly.” Leia rolled her eyes, knowing it was just like Luke to do so. “Gregor and Wolffe are in the cargo hold, sorting the empty crates.”

Rex nodded; “Great. I’ll go and help them in a second. ETA to Dantooine?”

“About three hours.”

The frequency went down and Rex turned back to Leia with a slightly stern look. “I have to go and help my brothers; you stay here. Don’t even think about getting up. You need to rest. You hit your head pretty hard back there.”

Leia rolled her eyes when Rex turned around. She wasn’t sure if it was plain spite or to prove she simply was well enough to do so but the second the doors closed after Rex, she stood up. Sitting down on the sofa on the opposite side of the small room, Leia half hoped Rex would come back in just to see the look on his face.

With nothing but the silence surrounding her, Leia found herself unable to do anything but think. She wasn’t sure if she’d been dreaming when she’d seen her mother in her passed out state or if it really had been Padme Amidala reaching out to her. Leia didn’t know and for some reason, she didn’t _want_ to know.

With everything her mother had said, Leia wasn’t even sure if she wanted it to have been real.

She could still feel the soft weight of her mother’s lips against her forehead as she whispered about how much she loved Leia and Luke. And Leia realised that she did wish it had been real. But like Padme had said, she’d never know.

 _‘Luke?’_ Leia reached out to her brother; the silence in the room was slightly deafening.

 _‘Leia! Ahsoka let me fly!’_ Luke laughed through their bond and suddenly Leia didn’t feel so alone. She could feel his happiness and giddiness at being able to do the one thing he loved most.

Leia wasn’t sure why she said it or when she’d made up her mind exactly but as the ship got pulled into hyperspace, heading back to the Rebellion where Leia felt safe, she knew her words rung true.

_‘I think we should tell Ahsoka and Rex who we are.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like Gregor and Wolffe but they won't be reoccurring characters :(


	19. Telling The Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rather long, hence why it took me ages to update. Enjoy! :)

For the majority of the flight back to Dantooine, Luke and Leia spent their time engaged in a silent argument over who should be the one to break the news to Ahsoka and Rex.

_(‘You tell them!’_

_‘No: you!’_

_‘Why me?’_

_‘Because I don’t want to!’_

_‘Well, neither do I.’_

_‘Tell them!’_

_‘I don’t wanna! You do it!’)_

They received a few questioning looks as the tension in the communal area skyrocketed and, at one point, their impromptu glaring-stare-contest was abruptly ended when Rex let out a pointed cough. Ahsoka had watched them for the majority of the flight with a cocked eyebrow and whilst the twins knew they weren’t helping their cause, they couldn’t help but continue to bicker across their bond.

_(‘Can you just get over yourself and tell them already?’_

_‘Again, why me?’_

_‘Luke!’_

_‘Leia!’_

_‘Do it!’_

_‘No! You!’_

_‘Ugh!’)_

There was a level of anxiety coursing through Luke and Leia’s veins at the thought of telling Ahsoka and Rex the truth about their parentage. They so desperately wanted to tell them and yet each time one of them attempted to form the words, they seemed to get stuck in their throat.

There was so many ways in which Ahsoka and Rex could react— happy, sad, angry, confused, distraught— and if they were being honest, the twins didn’t really know what they would do if the reaction given wasn’t a positive one.

They’d only known Rex and Ahsoka for less than a week and yet there was the potential there for a long-lasting friendship to be made. From what they’d heard on Maridun, there was a great fondness shared between the Togruta and the Clone for the parents Luke and Leia had never truly known. _Brother,_ Ahsoka had called Anakin; _friend,_ for their mother.

“So, uh, Ahsoka,” Luke cleared his throat, ending the second glare-off he’d been engaged with Leia in. His voice wobbled ever so slightly, his nerves for the impending conversation making it hard for him to sound casual. “How come you’re no longer a Jedi?”

Ahsoka raised her eyebrows, clearly shocked at the topic Luke had brought up. By now Gregor and Wolffe had moved to the cockpit to check all was well and good, leaving just Ahsoka, Rex and the twins for the conversation Luke and Leia were gearing themselves up for.

“How come you want to know?”

Ahsoka’s cool tone had Luke backtracking, rubbing the back of his head in a nervous manner. “Oh— uh, I don’t mean to pry, I’m just curious. You don’t, uh, have to tell us anything if you don’t want to! That’s fine, totally fine. Uh, sorry— I didn’t, uh, mean to be rude.”

Ahsoka let out a quiet chuckle, a look of amusement upon her face. “It’s fine, I don’t mind. It’s been a long time and I don’t mind telling either of you this. As long as your ready, that is; it isn’t a particularly nice story to tell.”

The twins shared a look before nodding at the elder woman, moving forwards in their seats like children being told a ghost story. However, the story that fell from Ahsoka’s lips was not one they’d expected to hear. It was one so heartbreaking that the twins actually felt their desire to reveal the truth about their parentage, deflate.

A bombing in the Jedi Temple.

Ahsoka and her Master were instructed to investigate.

An accomplice caught and Ahsoka framed.

Going on the run at sixteen.

Being tricked and framed even further— used as a scapegoat for someone else’s vile actions.

Expulsion from the Order she’d been raised in.

Trial.

_(Ahsoka Tano, by an overwhelming count of—)_

And then liberty, her name cleared— but at what cost?— a betrayal from a friend and the true colours of the only family she’d ever known exposed. The Order who’d cast her aside suddenly opened their arms to welcome her back.

 _(I’m sorry Master but I’m not coming back_.)

When Ahsoka finished her story, an old echo of pain hiding behind her eyes, Leia couldn’t help but feel disgusted. In many ways she understood what Ahsoka had gone through; at sixteen, a year younger than Ahsoka had been, Leia, too, was on the run from the Government at large.

Branded a traitor, Leia was running from the Empire and she knew that if she was ever caught, there would be no trial awaiting her. And where Ahsoka had been able to count on her Master, Leia’s own father, right up until the end, Leia knew that the same father would be one of the first to demand her execution.

“That sounded . . . difficult,” the words were a vast understatement and yet Leia was too much in shock at what she’d heard to find the words that accurately conveyed the disgust she felt.

She’d known the Jedi Order had been flawed in many ways but Force, this story seemed to blow their whole organisation apart.

“It was,” Ahsoka admitted, sighing heavily. “But Anakin never stopped believing in me and his belief was what saved my life.”

“And you decided not to return to the Order?” Luke spoke up, a light frown upon his face.

“They turned their backs on me when I needed them most, it didn’t feel right to return after that.”

“Where did you go?”

Ahsoka paused. “I was in the lower levels of Coruscant for a while, doing odd jobs to stay afloat. Even after my time as a Jedi, Anakin’s lessons and training came in handy— I was able to fend for myself and defend myself when necessary.”

Luke thought of his six months on Tatooine— it didn’t compare to Ahsoka’s situation of living in the underbelly of Coruscant (which he knew to be less than pleasant) but his life had been upturned just like hers and where she’d lost the Order, the only family she’d known, and her Master, who she recalled as a brother, Luke had lost his only father figure and sister as well.

“Didn’t you get lonely?” Force knew he had.

“Yes,” Ahsoka spoke candidly; she looked suddenly older than the thirty-three years she was. “I made a few friends but none of them really compared to the ones I’d lost. But I’d promised myself that I would try to figure out who I was without the Order so going back wasn’t really an option.”

“We would’ve accepted you back with open arms,” Rex spoke quietly, speaking for the first time. He’d been oddly silent throughout Ahsoka’s story, despite having been there when her expulsion had panned out.

Ahsoka smiled, “I know.”

“It sounds like your Master really cared about you,” Leia forced her voice not to wobble.

The time was edging closer and closer to when the truth would tumble out of their lips, never to be taken back. Once it was said, that would be it: it would be out in the Galaxy for Ahsoka and Rex to never forget. And as the time dawned, Leia felt her heart slowly begin to hammer in her chest, her stomach doing somersaults as she tried to bite her anxieties down.

“Yes, he did,” Ahsoka looked off to the side, a pained but happy smile upon her face. “Not many people knew it but Anakin was one of the most caring people I knew. If he cared about you then that was it: he would go to the end of the Universe and back, just for you.”

Luke thought of Vader sitting beside his bed, his father’s gloved hand pressing a cool compress to his forehead as he used to the Force to soothe some of the pain the sickness wracking his body caused. There had been a meeting at the military headquarters, that Luke knew, but his father had stayed by his side instead.

Leia’s voice cut Luke out of his memories; she sounded a little strained despite her attempted casual demeanour. “So, Anakin Skywalker was your Master— did you know Obi-Wan Kenobi, as well?”

At the mention of Obi-Wan, Ahsoka’s face sunk a little more. There was fondness there, mingled with grief. And a little distance.

 _Please,_ Leia begged, her breathing hitching, _please don’t say he’s dead._

What would they do if Ahsoka or Rex revealed that Obi-Wan had died?

What if he’d joined the Rebellion, becoming a valuable asset after his Skywalker raising days had ended and shortly after, he’d perished on a mission gone wrong?

Leia glanced at Luke, seeing the same feelings reflected in his eyes: what would they do if the one man who’d been their rock throughout childhood, the closest to a father that they’d had for ten years, the man who’d given them a home, had died before they could reunite? It was too cruel to even imagine.

“Oh yes, I knew Obi-Wan.”

“General Kenobi was just as legendary as Skywalker,” Rex chuckled. “Not as reckless, mind you, but he had his moments.”

“My relationship with Obi-Wan wasn’t the best near the end; he’d been one of the members on the Council at the time of my expulsion and whilst I know he would’ve defended me . . . he still sat by and did nothing when the verdict was given. I had hoped to patch up our relationship near the end of the War but he was too busy playing politics. And then the Purge happened and . . . well, I haven’t seen him since.”

Luke felt a lump rise in his throat. “You don’t think he’s—uh, he’s dead, do you?”

“He survived the Purge, that much I do know,” Ahsoka nodded, seemingly oblivious to the way Luke and Leia’s eyes were as wide as saucers, their hearts hammering at the prospect of her uttering the dreaded words. “He reworked a message that tried to lure surviving Jedi back to the Temple the night of the Purge— I saw this message a few years ago. But nothing has been heard from him since.”

Rex frowned. “It wasn’t like General Kenobi to just give up, either. Wherever he’s been all these years, he must’ve had a damn good reason for hiding.”

Despite the situation, the twins shared a glance, feeling their hearts grow just a little. They felt warm, like a ray of sun was shining down on them, lighting up their chests and making them feel protected. _He must’ve had a damn good reason for hiding,_ Rex had said.

‘ _Us,_ ’ Luke whispered to his sister across their bond, knowing she felt the same happiness as he. They never failed to feel loved whenever they were reminded of how much Obi-Wan had sacrificed, how much he’d gone out of his way to take them into hiding, dropping off the face of the Galaxy, in order to give them the happy childhoods he’d believed they’d deserved.

Obi-Wan hadn’t been perfect, as Ahsoka had pointed out, but to Luke and Leia, no one could compare.

“Do you have any stories about them? You know, Obi-Wan and Fa—uh, Anakin?”

Luke ignored Leia’s glared at his almost slip-up, knowing he was going to get an earful later when they were alone. He could already hear her frustrated yells in his mind (“You Nerfherder, you almost blew everything!”) But neither Rex or Ahsoka had picked up on his momentary slip, instead they were too busy reminiscing, thinking back on past adventures at Luke’s words.

“Where do we even start?” Rex huffed a laugh, his pale blue eyes twinkling in the light of the ship. “We could go on for days with all the trouble Skywalker and Kenobi caused. There was never quite a pair like them.”

“Yes, they were rather infamous for being inseparable; they were like two halves of the same coin. Although, I would have to say my Master lacked Master Kenobi’s negotiating skills. His ‘aggressive negotiations’ always drove Obi-Wan up a wall.”

Leia quirked an eyebrow up, wondering if she should dare to ask. “Aggressive negotiations?”

Ahsoka shook her head with mirth, sharing a laugh with Rex. There was so much fondness between them, the both of them finding some solace in the grief with memories of the good times shared.

“It’s negotiations with a lightsaber. Anakin coined the phrase for when negotiation deals went south.”

 _‘I have got to use that one!’_ Luke chuckled and Leia was a second away from rolling her eyes before she stopped herself. With neither Ahsoka nor Rex privy to the private conversations in the twins’ heads, it would seem rude to suddenly roll her eyes at them.

Once again, Luke and Leia sat on the edges of their seats, listening to Rex and Ahsoka recount story after story of Obi-Wan and their father’s exploits. Many of the stories they heard sounded vaguely familiar, having been shortened bedtime stories that Obi-Wan had sugar-coated and whispered to them as the sun had set on Naboo and the twins had been ushered into their beds.

Trapped in a cave with a Gundark.

A rescue mission to the Separatist-owned Malevolence.

A friendship with Pirates.

A covert rescue mission to the Citadel

( _It seems Anakin’s teaching method is: do as I say, not as I do.)_

Fighting for the freedom of others.

The more Ahsoka and Rex talked, the more Luke and Leia heard the subtle undertones of how close Anakin and Obi-Wan had been. In every single story there was a moment to laugh about the pair’s bickering or how they fought so in-sync it was as if they were the same mind put into two bodies.

 _They were like two halves of the same coin_ , Ahsoka had said. From the stories she was recalling, the picture of Anakin and Obi-Wan’s brotherhood was painted clearly. And from being raised by the elder man, Luke and Leia knew that Obi-Wan had loved their father so dearly. His love had been unconditional, even after the horrors Anakin had committed in the end.

Obi-Wan may never have forgiven nor forgotten but his love had never died. Even after selling his soul to a Sith, Anakin had remained as Obi-Wan’s brother— as his son, in all but blood and name.

“ _It wasn’t until after,”_ Obi-Wan had told them one night when a storm had been raging on outside their small cottage and the twins had huddled into his larger bed, pretending not to be scared even though their guardian had seen right through them. “ _It wasn’t until I started to grieve that I realised how foolish I had been. I’d always known that I cared for your father more than the Order allowed; I’d grown attached and I’d told myself it was simply brotherhood._

_The Jedi were the only sense of family I had known and I’d told myself that my caring for your father was akin to my caring for my other Jedi brothers and sisters. But I was foolish, even then I had known the truth but I’d denied it— to myself and to your father._

_He was my son, in all but blood and name. Everyone else saw us bicker, they saw us fight, they saw how attuned we had become . . . but no one saw how the ten year old boy who’d recently become my Padawan had crawled into my bed every night for a month because he’d been scared and lonely. No one saw how the brave Knight on the battlefield had sought me out for comfort when things became too much. Nor did anyone know how desperate I felt when he became ill or injured._

_It wasn’t until after I lost him that I realised just how much he’d been my son, whether I’d wanted to admit it or not.”_

Leia wondered if Ahsoka had seen that. Had she seen the quiet moments between Anakin and Obi-Wan when there had been no stress, no fight to be won, no argument to engage in. . . had she seen the moments where their facade had fallen apart and they’d just been a father and his son, enjoying a moments peace?

“I hope that he’s alive,” Leia didn’t realise she’d spoken the words aloud until Luke’s eyes widened and his head whipped towards her but Ahsoka didn’t seem to find anything odd with her comment for she nodded.

“I do, as well.”

Gaining a little bit of the courage she’d been lacking, Leia glanced in Luke’s direction. Her brother nodded once, encouraging her on.

“Ahsoka, Rex, there’s actually something we want to—“

There was the sound of cursing and then Wolffe came climbing down the ladder that led to the cockpit, his voice as gruff as ever. “Thought you should know we’ll be coming out of hyperspace in five minutes. ETA to Dantooine is only fifteen minutes now once the hyperdrive is disengaged; the Rebellion is expecting us so landing should be easy.”

Like a balloon deflating, Leia closed her mouth, feeling her brief courage dissipate. Beside her, Luke looked suddenly glum and they realised their opportunity to reveal the truth was over. Anything they said now would be too rushed.

_‘We should’ve told them earlier!’_

_‘Then why didn’t you?’_

_‘Well, why didn’t YOU?’_

Ahsoka was too busy heading up to the cockpit as Rex headed to the cargo hold, meaning no one noticed as Luke and Leia sat on the sofa, their arms crossed, and glum expressions upon their faces.

_‘This is your fault.’_

_‘No: it is yours.’_

_‘Yours.’_

_‘Yours!’_

* * *

It wasn’t long after their return to Dantooine that Luke and Leia found themselves in the canteen, eating amongst the rest of Red Squadron. No one questioned why the Princess of Alderaan had chosen that table and Leia liked how her title wasn’t an obstruction. It was almost too easy with how well she fit in.

“So, how was the mission?” Wedge asked, digging his fork into his food as he looked between Luke and Leia expectantly.

Leia shrugged, trying to keep to her table manners whilst the rest of the men around the table seemed to forgo them. (Honestly, Leia was in half a mind to yell at tell them so they'd eat with their mouths closed).

“It was fine.”

“Except that some beast came and attacked us,” Luke added as a side-thought, chuckling at the memory now that there was no danger.

“A beast?” Wedge echoed, his eyebrows shooting up. A few of the other boys looked interested in the conversation now, leaning in closer as they waited for Luke to explain further.

And explain Luke did. With all the dramatics of a soap-actor on a terrible Holo-drama show, Luke launched into an exaggerated recalling of the earlier event when the Mastiff Phalone had attacked them in the Lurmen village. Leia tried— she really did try— to not roll her eyes as Luke’s recalling became ostentatious, his arms making gestures and his exaggerations becoming akin to lies.

‘ _The Mastiff Phalone was not twenty feet tall!’_ Leia shot across their bond, desperately wanting to reach out and punch her brother’s arm at his theatrics.

‘ _How would you know? You spent half your time on the floor, passed out.’_

“—and then it charged at Princess Organa,” Luke carried on, as if Leia had never spoken. “So then I—“

A snort from across the table had Luke faltering, his story being abruptly cut off. All eyes turned to the shaggy, brown haired man, who had to of been, at least, ten years older than Luke. Despite having six pairs of eyes upon him, the man didn’t look embarrassed as he smirked into the food he was eating.

“Uh, is everything okay?” Luke couldn’t help but sound a little self-conscious, his curiosity mixing with a little of his dread. He couldn’t remember the elder man’s name but he’d not been overly friendly to Luke since the boy had joined Red Squadron.

“Don’t worry about it,” the man waved his hand as if it was no big deal but his smirk grew. It made Leia’s blood boil how there was a snotty expression upon his face as if he thought he were above all of this.

Her teeth ground together and her fists clenched, a basic instinct of protection rising up to defend her brother. Luke wasn’t defenceless and whilst he could hold his own in any argument or fight presented, going down that path wasn’t one he favoured so Leia had long-since decided that she would be the one to walk that path for him if the situation should ever arise.

“Please,” she seethed, her voice made of steel that made the man finally look up. “Explain.”

“The kid is about four feet and you’re trying to tell me he was able to take down a twenty foot tall creature? I mean, make it believable!”

Ready to rip this man to shreds, Leia opened her mouth—

But someone spoke before her.

“If you don’t like the story so much, Surrel, then how about you go eat somewhere else? No one is asking for you to be here.”

The speaker was no other than Tripp Vero, the very person Leia had been giving cautious looks to through the entirety of dinner. Tripp was frowning at the elder man, Surrel, with pure dislike. His purple skin looked a little flushed and his hand gripping his knife was curled up into a tight fist.

“Come on Vero,” Surrel rolled his eyes as if he believed he could win whatever argument he’d engaged. “Don’t tell me you buy this Bantha fodder! The kid is half my height!”

Luke scrunched up his nose; _that is such an exaggeration,_ he thought to himself.

“Luke’s height has nothing to do with his strength,” Tripp glared. “You’re not fooling anyone with this jealous streak of yours. We all know Luke’s superior piloting skills makes you feel inferior and if you’re going to act like a sleemo about it, then you can leave.”

There was a tense minute, with Surrel and Tripp glaring at each other in silence, daring the other to back down. But then, just when it felt as if the tension would break any knife that attempted to cut it, Surrel stood up. “Whatever,” he grumbled as he stormed out of the canteen.

There were a few cheers around the table once Surrel had left and Wedge patted Tripp’s shoulder with a pleased look. Even though what he’d done had been good and he’d defended Luke, Leia couldn’t let her reservations go.

“Uh, thanks for that,” Luke leaned across the table. His cheeks were a little red but there was gratitude in his eyes. The rest of the table had broken out into smaller conversations, leaving Luke in peace to thank Tripp for his words.

“No problem, that dude was a nerf.”

“So, are you from Tatooine then?”

Tripp lifted a questioning brow, pausing for a second as if didn’t understand. “What?”

Luke hated how he stumbled over his words. “Oh, uh, well— you said sleemo and that’s prominently Tatooine slang. I don’t know, I, uh, just assumed.”

“Nah,” Tripp waved a hand, giving off a cool impression. “I’m not from that junk planet. I’ve been there though, once. That’s probably where I picked up the word. You from Tatooine then?”

 _It isn’t a lie,_ Luke told himself as he nodded. Six months or not, he’d lived there for a while. “Yeah, I lived on a farm that my Aunt and Uncle owned.”

“How’d you end up with the Rebellion then?”

Luke shrugged, going over the ‘white lie’ he’d perfected with Leia. “I decided I wanted to help make a change so I caught a freighter and here I am.”

“Long way from Tatooine,” there was something about Tripp’s tone that made Leia lean in closer, her eyes slightly narrowed. He spoke as if he saw through the lie . . . “You miss home?”

Luke, however, saw no problem in Tripp’s voice or his words. “A little but home isn’t always a place.”

Finally seeming to catch Leia’s less than polite glare, Tripp turned his attention towards her. He lifted an eyebrow, some of the strands of his tied-up bun falling free around his face. “You alright, Princess Organa?”

Leia clenched her fists at her side, deciding there was definitely something about Tripp that she didn’t like. He was just as infuriating in attitude as Han Solo but where Leia had been able to sense goodness in Han’s heart and intentions, Tripp seemed swallowed in darkness. He made her guard go up and the Force whispered for her to be wary.

“Peachy.”

“So, how’d you two meet?” Tripp idly waved his fork between Luke and Leia with a curious expression.

“It’s a long story,” Leia straightened up, watching Tripp like one would an animal about to pounce. _I don't like you,_ she whispered in her head; _I don't like you, I don't--_

“You don’t have time to share it?”

“No.”

Tripp shrugged, “Fine. You guys just friends or—“

Luke choked on some of his food, spluttering a little as he crinkled his nose. “Friends!” He squeaked, disgusted by the very notion. “Just friends!”

From the moment they’d joined the Rebellion, rumours had flown in regards to Luke and Leia. As Princess of Alderaan, Leia was a prominent figure of importance, greatly respected because of Bail’s legendary reputation. The eyes had been on them from the moment they’d landed on Dantooine and with their near inseparable behaviour and unexplained close friendship, it hadn’t taken long for people to whisper to one another.

Of course, to the twins, the very notion and the gossip being whispered around the Alliance seemed asinine but then again, it wouldn’t be anyone’s first thought that they be siblings. Other conclusions had been drawn and for their mentality, they’d tried their best to ignore the murmurings.

Tripp smirked at Luke’s reaction, leaning forward slightly as he spoke in a conspiratorial way. “Ah, so she friend-zoned you, huh?

Luke spluttered once again, this time looking a little more offended than disgusted. Leia, in turn, rolled her eyes with complete disdain. “You have no idea to what you’re talking about,” she spoke coldly.

“Alright, alright,” Tripp smirked again. “I didn’t mean to offend. We’re friends, right?”

Luke wasted no time in nodding, “Of course!”

 _‘I don’t like him’,_ Leia couldn’t help but speak to Luke through their bond. The more she stared at Tripp Vero, the more she wished she was more trained in the Force to potentially look into his mind.

_‘You don’t have to, but I like him.’_

_‘Why?’_

_‘Why not?’_ Luke shot back.

_‘I don’t trust him, Luke.’_

_‘Well, I do! He defended me to that other guy!’_

_‘Oh then let’s all bow down at Vero’s feet! What a Saint!’_

When Tripp turned his head for a second, Luke sent out an elbow to directly stab Leia in the ribs. His sister sent him a glare in retaliation. And when Tripp turned his head to look at them again, they pretend as if nothing had happened.

Once again, Tripp and Luke engaged in friendly conversation and whilst the Keshiri male had done absolutely nothing to end up on Leia’s Most Disliked List, she mentally added his name anyway.

* * *

It was a lot later that night, the base far more quiet than usual, that Leia found herself wandering the many hallways in search of Luke. There had been a meeting that Leia had been privy to attend but now it was over and all of her attention was focused on finding her brother and possibly working up the courage to admit the truth to Ahsoka and Rex.

They hadn’t seen either of the elder pair since the mission report— no doubt, Rex was off with his brothers and Ahsoka was off meditating. But Leia knew the longer they postponed telling the truth, the worse the reaction would be.

 _‘Luke!’_ Leia hissed across their bond, feeling her annoyance grow with each step she took. _‘Where are you?’_

Her brother instantly responded, although his response was a little rushed and distracted. _‘Is your meeting over? I’m in the hangar.’_

Leia could’ve slapped herself; of course, Luke was in the hangar. It should’ve been the first place she’d looked.

Upon entering the hangar, Leia immediately knew why Luke had sounded so distracted minutes before. Her brother was digging around, headfirst, in the engine of a star-fighter, seemingly making repairs and improvements. There was nothing unusual about this: if anything, Leia had almost expected this to happen at some point. Whilst they’d been too young for Obi-Wan to let Luke play with mechanics when they’d been growing up, Leia had heard enough stories from her brother to know Luke and Vader often bonded over speeder engines.

However, what was unusual (or maybe it wasn’t and Leia just _really_ disliked the man) was Tripp Vero standing beside Luke, giving him compliments.

“Ah, just rework that wire there— yeah, just like that. Good job Luke; you sure know what your doing!”

Luke’s head popped out of the engine, his cheeks smeared in engine oil and his hair a little frazzled. But there was a gleam in his eyes that Leia knew could only come from doing what he loved the most: this.

“Thanks, Tripp!”

“How’d you get so talented, eh? Living on a farm on the Outer Rim?”

A little pink tinge came across Luke’s cheeks, underneath the engine oil. “Oh, uh, well, I had to be good at mechanics in order to help repair the vaporators. My Uncle didn’t like droids.”

 _It isn’t a lie,_ Luke reminded himself, trying not to look suspicious as Tripp nodded, taking the words in.

“Well, you definitely have a skill. I’m sure your . . . _Uncle_ would be proud.”

Before Luke could reply, Leia cleared her throat, crossing her arms in a manner she hoped Luke would understand meant she didn’t approve of this. _What does he see in this nerf?_ Leia wondered, unconsciously narrowing her eyes at Tripp when both their heads whipped in her direction.

“Good evening Princess Organa,” Tripp spoke cooly, making Leia’s blood boil. Honestly, there was something up about this guy and every bone in her body could sense it. Her dislike stretched over the usual— it was like the Force buzzed each time Tripp was near, her instincts warning her to not fall for whatever facade he was wearing.

And yet, Luke liked him. If anything, her brother greatly respected Tripp and seemed to hang onto the man’s every word like a desperate man waiting to hear the words of a messiah.

And nothing she could say— or has said— can change Luke’s mind.

It was infuriating, to say the least.

“Luke,” Leia set her eyes on her brother, ignoring Tripp Vero entirely. “You promised to help repair my Artoo unit earlier. Will you still uphold this?”

Luke’s nose crinkled at the poised way his sister was addressing him but he ultimately nodded. Talking about repairing Artoo was their code way of saying they wanted a word in private, without arousing suspicion. With all the rumours circulating around the base at the moment, the last thing they needed was to add fuel to the fire.

“Of course,” Luke placed down the tool he’d been holding, turning to Tripp with an apologetic look. “I can finish fixing your star-fighter tomorrow, if you’d like?”

Tripp waved a hand, not looking bothered. “It’s fine, you’ve already done more than I ever could.” He clapped his hand down on Luke’s shoulder; “You have a real talent, Luke.”

His words made Luke beam (and for Leia to roll her eyes).

Walking out of the hangar, Leia tried her best to hold her tongue. She really, really did try. But Luke knew her like he knew the back of his hand and apparently her guise wasn’t that convincing.

“You still don’t like him?” Luke sounded exasperated.

“What’s there to like?”

“Tripp’s been nothing but nice to you!”

“There’s something . . . off about him.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Well maybe you just haven’t given him a chance.”

This time, Leia rolled her eyes, giving her brother a sour look. “I don’t _want_ to give him a chance, Luke. I don’t like him— there’s something not right about him. You know my judgement is hardly ever wrong!”

“The key word there being _hardly_ , Leia. You aren’t always right.”

Leia scoffed, crossing her arms. Her response only egged Luke on more, his frown becoming more prominent.

“You didn’t like Han or Chewie either when we were on the _Millennium Falcon_ but they turned out to be good guys.”

Leia turned her head to give Luke a sharp look. “Tripp Vero is nothing like Han or Chewie.” It was hard to explain but when Leia had looked across the Mos Eisley bar at the smuggler and Wookie, she’d just _known_ they were good people. She’d seen their good hearts even if they were muffled under their occupations.

But when Leia looked at Tripp Vero, she felt no goodness from him: no good intentions, no good heart and she just simply knew he wasn’t a good person.

“Why because you don’t fancy him?”

Leia spluttered, feeling offended at the thought. “I did not fancy Han—“

“Yeah, yeah,” Luke rolled his eyes, giving up on the fight. “Save it. Maybe your just jealous that I’ve got another friend other than you.”

This time Leia laughed. “Yeah right.”

“Tripp’s here with the Rebellion, Leia. He’s fighting the same cause as you, putting his life on the line the same as you. He might not be perfect and maybe he does have a few skeletons in his closet but he’s here and surely that alone makes him good?”

Leia could see Luke’s logic but something in her told her not to let her wariness go.

She was about to reply when a soft voice from the room beside them made her pause. The voice sounded familiar, faintly distinct like a dream on the cusp of her memory. And it made Leia feel warm, like being wrapped in a blanket all of a sudden.

_“—Fear: in these times, it is the greatest weapon wielded against those who would stand for truth and justice. We have a responsibility as the elected representatives of the Republic to face our fears and challenge those who threaten the safety of its people—”_

Both Luke and Leia froze, seeming to place the soft woman’s voice at the same time: ' _Mom_ '.

Their eyes went wide and as they shuffled closer to the room beside them in the hallway, they noticed a hologram playing. It seemed to be of a woman dressed in baggy robes, her hood pulled up and she was speaking to a room full of people. . . on Alderaan, Leia realised. She recognised the style of the people in the crowd, their white dresses and simplistic but elegant hairstyles being akin to what she’d worn when living there.

Their mother was giving a speech and the twins felt mesmerised as they watched from the doorway.

_“—I stand before you today bruised but not beaten. The voices of the people shall be heard. And together, we shall represent them. The homeless shall no longer . . .--”_

“You don’t have to watch from the doorway, you know,” it was Ahsoka’s voice and she was calling them from inside the room. With slow steps, Luke and Leia walked forwards. The room was dark and there were a few crates and boxes stacked up in the back, with several seating arrangements dotted around. It was one of the unused rooms on the base, a place people went for peace of mind that wasn’t the communal area.

Ahsoka sat before the hologram, her eyes never leaving the blue form of their mother as she addressed the Alderaanian embassy. Rex sat on a chair beside her, not looking like he was following Padme’s words but respecting her nonetheless.

Luke and Leia sat on the floor beside Ahsoka, their hearts feeling exposed as their mother spoke. She sounded so confident and brave, as if there was nothing she couldn’t do.

_“—. . . the soldiers who so valiantly fight to protect us must also be protected once their job is done. We need legislation to defend the displaced from slavery, to protect our soldiers from feeling as if there is no future beyond their warfare. And we must open channels to diplomacy so that we can end this war—“_

“I was there when Senator Amidala made this speech,” Ahsoka hummed, sounding distant in her thoughtfulness. “A Bounty Hunter was targeting her but she refused to back down. Even when she was injured hours before this speech was made, Padme didn’t let that stop her. She never let anything get in her way of fighting for peace.”

Luke stared at the blue hologram, noticing how the mouth hidden slightly by the hood didn’t move. “That isn’t her, is it?”

“No, after the first attack we made a plan. Padme gave her speech from what was supposed to be the safety of her room. This was a decoy to help throw the Bounty Hunter off.”

“It didn’t work?”

Ahsoka pulled a face. “No, the Bounty Hunter was too smart. She went for Senator Amidala in her room instead. I was a Padawan at the time of this, so wholly inexperienced and in over my head. But Padme was my friend and I made a promise to myself that I would do anything to protect her.”

Leia closed her eyes, finding sudden serenity as her mother’s voice floated around her.

( _“—To those that act as agents of chaos, I say this: I stand resolute and unyielding—“)_

“You obviously did a good job,” Leia smiled when she opened her eyes. Her heart ached a little to hear about an attempt on her mother’s life— she’d survived, yes, but she still wasn’t here at Luke and Leia’s side to fully take away the pain. “You should give yourself more credit.”

“Anyway,” Rex chuckled from his seat. “I heard the Senator was quite a match for the Bounty Hunter herself.”

Ahsoka explained how it had been Padme to shoot the shot to stun the Bounty Hunter and apprehend the criminal in the end. She smiled as she spoke, thinking back to that moment, completely missing how sad the twins suddenly looked as they realised they would forever only hear stories about their mother, never getting to hear her life from the actual woman who’d lived it all.

“I wish I’d known her,” Leia’s voice was almost too quiet to hear. There was sorrow in her tone which Ahsoka didn’t fully understand.

“I’m sure your father spoke very highly of her,” the Togruta nodded. She turned off the hologram of Padme’s speech, instead pulling up a picture that had to of been taken at the same time. There stood Luke and Leia’s mother, her hair in some kind of bob and wearing a delicate cream dress. Her arm was in a sling and beside her stood Ahsoka, much smaller and weedier than she seemed to be now as an adult. And to their mother’s other side stood Bail Organa, dressed in intricate blue robes and his face just how Leia remembered.

Her heart pulled to see the two parents she’d lost. One she’d never had and one she’d never given the chance.

Both dead.

“They were good friends,” Ahsoka finished off, smiling sadly at the holo. One of their mother’s security men stood off to the side, looking rather intimidating with a patch over his eye but there was something about his expression that suggested he wasn’t as scary as he looked.

A lump formed in Leia’s throat. “How come you were watching Mo—Senator Amidala’s speech?”

“Sometimes its relaxing,” Ahsoka admitted. “To remind ourselves that whilst our friends are gone, they were once here and the work they did still matters. It still inspires us. Rex and I often watch Holos when we need time to clear our heads.” Something akin to horror flashed across Ahsoka’s face. “We can turn this off, though, I know your grieving for your father and I didn’t mean—“

Leia shook her head, “No, no, its fine, honestly.” She cleared her throat, feeling a desire to talk more about her mother. “My father always said that Senator Amidala could sway a million people with just several words,” Leia forced her voice not to break. Beside her, Luke shuffled closer, offering some kind of comfort.

“I was no Politician,” Rex nodded. “But boy, did Senator Amidala have a way of making even those uninterested in a cause suddenly feel drawn in to the debate. And she was a vocal advocate for Clone Rights. My brothers and I owed a lot to her.”

Even though he’d asked Obi-Wan this a million times before and even Vader had thrown his own two cents in to give Luke an impression of how amazing his mother had been, Luke asked: “What was she like, not as a Senator?”

Ahsoka’s response was instant and without any hesitation. “She was kind— so, so, so kind. She cared about her people and all the change she wanted to bring was for the betterment of people she had never met. She could be rather reckless, going out of her way in the name of diplomacy, sometimes even breaking the rules. Padme was no rule-abider, I’ll tell you that—“

“It was probably why General Skywalker liked her so much.”

“She was a terrible cook, as well,” Ahsoka chuckled. “I was invited over for dinner several months after I became Anakin’s Padawan. I’d only met Padme in formal settings before the dinner and I can only guess Padme invited us over in order to build a proper friendship because of her closeness to my Master.”

“Did the dinner not go well?” Luke wondered how a story about a dinner over sixteen years ago could make his heart threaten to burst. He was so desperate to hear more about his mother that he would even feel ecstatic to hear about a time she went grocery shopping.

“Oh no, it was a complete disaster. Padme managed to burn the food, nearly destroy her oven and two of her kitchen droids had to go in for repairs because of the incident. We ended up having food from a Diner delivered. But we became friends and I’ll never forget that day.”

Leia wondered, had things all gone perfectly and their lives hadn’t been blown apart even before they’d been born, would it have been their mother or their father who cooked their family meals?

It felt odd to think of the man who was now Darth Vader to stand over a stove and cook pasta.

“She was a Queen, wasn’t she?” Luke confirmed what he already knew. The story of how Queen Amidala had helped fight to win the freedom of her people during the Trade Federation Invasion had been one of the twins’ favourite bedtime stories. (By the time they’d been eight, Obi-Wan had recounted the story at least a hundred times. “ _Wouldn’t you like to hear another one? You heard the Trade Federation story last night!”_ He’d say as he tucked them in. _“No! We wanna hear how Mama saved our people!”_ The twins would argue back.)

“One of the best,” Ahsoka nodded. “She was so popular that after her two terms ended, the people tried to change the law so she could stay on for longer.”

That was news to Luke and Leia. They’d known their mother had served for two terms then become Naboo’s Senator but they hadn’t known she’d almost stayed on as Queen, and that she’d turned it down.

Would they have been born if she’d stayed on as Queen for longer? Would she still be alive?

“Do you know why she didn’t?” Leia frowned.

“From what Padme told me, she wanted to settle down when her terms ended. But then the next Queen of Naboo asked for her to become Senator, Padme said she couldn’t refuse. All she wanted was to help her people.”

 _‘She wanted to settle down,’_ even across their bond, Leia sounded a little choked up.

 _‘I don’t know if that makes me feel happy or sad,’_ Luke shot back.

Their mother had wanted to settle down. She’d wanted the domestic life that death had cheated her out of. Here were Luke and Leia, Padme’s children, and yet their mother was not here, living the life she’d apparently wanted.

Suddenly the question that came bubbling out of Leia’s lips was so intense and Leia felt a burning desire to know the answer almost instantly. It was like her heart was aching, desperate to know the truth. Or whatever truth Ahsoka could provide.

“Do you think she was happy?”

“What do you mean?” Ahsoka frowned in Leia’s direction and even Rex looked a little stumped.

Leia drew in a breath of air, trying to not sound as demanding even though her heart thumped in her chest like a beat saying _tell me, tell me, tell me._ “Do you think, when she was alive, she was happy? Her job must’ve been stressful and having Bounty Hunters target you isn’t exactly pleasant and she didn’t get to live the life she wanted— do you think she regretted anything? That she was happy?”

It took a second for Ahsoka to reply, clearly weighing Leia’s words up in her mind. Beside Leia, Luke was stiff, like he couldn’t relax until he heard what he was hoping to hear.

Eventually, Ahsoka spoke. “I think so,” she admitted, seeming confident in her decision. “Padme loved what she did, whether she’d wanted to settle down or not, public service was her joy. She wanted to help people and I think if she’d retired, she’d have gotten bored very quickly. Being a Senator, being able to bring about change, was what Padme lived for. It was stressful, I’m sure, but rewarding when things went according to plan. I know she worked hand and she truly cared for what she did.”

“And she wasn’t exactly alone,” Rex added, a little teasing smirk upon his face.

At his words, Ahsoka rolled her eyes and gave Rex a deep stare. With a heavy sigh, she admitted defeated. “No, she was not alone. Neither Padme nor Anakin were exactly subtle in hiding their relationship.”

“General Skywalker used to ‘spot check my armour’ in which I had to stand guard whilst he sent a transmission to Nubian Senator. My suspicions about their relationship were confirmed when I walked in on them kissing once,” Rex pulled a face; “I think the spot checking was my punishment.”

“I just wish Anakin had told me.”

Ahsoka looked glum, flash of pain dancing across her eyes.

“I don’t think it had anything to do with you,” Luke hated to see the downcast expression on Ahsoka’s face. Neither of his parents had told Obi-Wan, one of their closest friends and the closest their father had had to a father, either. It wasn’t anything on Ahsoka, Luke knew that.

“Do you know how she died?” Leia frowned, her heart suddenly feeling like a rock. She knew it was getting closer to the perfect opportunity to reveal the truth. And as terrifying as that was, it would be a relief to just say it.

Ahsoka’s face went dark. “Official statements are that she was killed by renegade Jedi.”

“You don’t believe that?”

“Of course not! The Jedi would never—“ Ahsoka spluttered, taking a second to compose herself. “No, I do not believe the Empire’s _lies_. The Jedi, as misguided as they became towards the end, were not savages. Padme was an ally to the Jedi; if anything, her close allegiance would have been what caused her downfall.”

“I knew my General,” Rex nodded, expression stony. “He wouldn’t have let anything happen to the Senator if he were alive. I know she must’ve been taken out _after_ the Jedi Purge.”

( _Stop! Stop now! Come back! I love you!_

_LIAR! You’re with him! You brought him here to kill me!_

_Anakin—)_

Leia felt a familiar pain stir up as she heard the devotion in Rex’s voice. There was no doubt in the Clones mind that his former General had either died before any harm had been presented or possibly even trying to defend her. If only he knew . . . _No_ , Leia felt a fierceness grow in her chest and she knew the truth about what had happened could never be revealed.

For all intents and purposes on Ahsoka and Rex’s behalf, Mustafar had never happened and Anakin had died during the Jedi Purge.

Like a dark cloud finally waning away, Ahsoka shook her head, adding some liveliness to the conversation again. “Enough about death, Padme’s legacy shouldn’t be surpassed by her dubious demise. The Rebellion may have been officially founded after she passed but she helped co-found it all the same.”

Luke found his eyes glued to the Holo still showing of their mother, her arm in a sling but a strength in her eyes. He could see why people said that he had her smile. “Do you think she would’ve liked us? Leia and I?”

Ahsoka’s eyebrow quirked up. “Uh, I’m sure she would’ve yes. In some ways, you remind me of her. I’m sure you would’ve gotten on well.”

Luke hummed. He desperately wished he had some sort of memory of his mother, that his newborn eyes had met hers and the memory had glued itself to his mind, never to be lost. But whenever he strained his mind, seeking some sort of image or memory that he could latch onto, there was nothing.

 _‘We should tell the truth,’_ Leia whispered across their bond, her eyes meeting Luke’s for a second. With his sister next to him and the Holo of his mother before him, Luke really could see the resemblance. But where their mother had a softness which had been passed onto Luke, Leia had their father’s fierceness making her features stand out.

_‘Go on then.’_

_‘Oh, not this again! Luke, tell them!’_

_‘You do it!’_

_‘I asked you first!’_

_‘So?’_

“I don’t know about you all, but I’m beat,” Rex sighed as he stood up from the chair. Ahsoka followed suit, the Holo of their mother shutting off.

“I didn’t realise the time. It’ll be good to catch some rest.”

_‘They’re leaving! We have to tell them now!’_

“Wait!” Luke called after Rex and Ahsoka, the elder pair already halfway across the room to the exit. They turned expectantly, eyebrows raised. “I, uh—“

Luke’s faltering caused Ahsoka to roll her eyes, a small smile on her face as she bid them goodnight. Their feet were just out the door, their minds enjoying their last second of peace before the bombshell dropped that Luke let out a yell, the words tumbling out.

“She was our mother!”

Silence.

If this were a Holo-drama, Luke knew the audience would be gasping right about now. Ahsoka and Rex were frozen, half-way out the room as if they’d been suddenly turned into statues. The pregnant pause was uncomfortable and awkward and the twins exchanged a look, wondering if they’d been wrong to admit the truth.

_‘Maybe we shouldn’t have—“_

_‘They deserved to know.’_

_‘It’s been two minutes and thirty-eight seconds since anyone has spoken!’_

_‘Do you think they’ll just leave without saying anything? Are we meant to pretend that what I just said never happened? What if—‘_

Ahsoka turned around, her eyes wide with what Luke and Leia could only see as fear. “What did you just say?” She sounded breathless, as if the twins had just punched her in the chest.

This time taking the lead, Leia raised her head, keeping her chin up. “She was our mother.”

“Your— both of yours— mother?”

“Luke and I are twins.”

“ _Twins_ ,” Ahsoka spoke as if she didn’t understand the meaning of the word. She was looking between Luke and Leia as if their faces held all the answers she needed. By now, Rex had turned around but his face was passive, his eyes, however, gave away the utter confusion and shock that he was feeling.

“And your father was—“

Luke tilted his head, “I think you know.”

For the first time, Rex realised just how much Luke resembled Anakin. The resemblance had always been there but the lie had kept Rex from noticing just how much. Luke’s face was softer than his General’s had been, and it was Padme that Rex saw when the boy smiled, but Luke’s eyes were the exact same electric blue, his eyebrows and chin all having come from his father as well.

Father.

Rex didn’t know why it felt like the Universe had been pulled from under his feet to discover his former Jedi General and friend had been a father. Skywalker had never played by the books and even bound to a Jedi’s life, he’d broken rule after rule. Finding him kissing a Senator had been the icing on the cake and standing before his son and daughter now, Rex realised this was the cherry.

Ahsoka, however, struggled to place how this could be. She could still remember the grief that had encompassed her when she’d discovered Padme had died. She’d been on some waste of a planet— the name was long gone in her mind— inside some seedy bar in the attempt to win a ship off one of the drunks slouched at the counter. The Holonet on the table had played a sad tune, and an image of the late Nubian Senator had appeared and Ahsoka’s heart had just . . . clenched.

For Padme had been laying on a bed of flowers, her hair splayed out and her expression calm as she’d been walked down Naboo’s streets to her eternal resting place. Ahsoka had lost friends, her brother and nearly every single person she’d cared for in only a few short days but never had she expected to lose Padme as well.

As she blinked away the tears, her heart still clenching as hard as it had on that day in the bar, Ahsoka remembered the bump that had been shown underneath Padme’s dress.

Padme’s baby— Anakin’s baby— a baby not born.

“That can’t be true,” Ahsoka was the epitome of denial. “No, it just can’t be! I saw Padme Amidala’s funeral on the Holonet! She was pregnant! There was a bump— I saw her bump. Her child died with her! Anakin’s child died—“

Leia felt her heart break for Ahsoka. The plan to cover up the twins’ birth had been necessary to keep them safe yet it was cruel to those not let it on the secret. “The bump was a ploy to keep us safe.”

“Safe? From who?”

Luke hated how they were lying by omission. “The Emperor.”

“That would make sense,” Rex seemed to understand. “I don’t know much about the Force but Skywalker could do unimaginable things, it would make sense that his children had the same abilities.”

Ahsoka hummed, still looking a little shocked. “Anakin was strong, yes. I would understand why it was necessary for you to be hidden from the Sith. But where did you go? Leia, you were introduced to the Galaxy as Bail Organa’s daughter at ten. What happened to you after Pa— your mother died?”

“Obi-Wan actually took us. He raised us on Naboo; we had a happy childhood and he raised us on stories about our parents and their adventures.”

“Master Kenobi raised you? The Obi-Wan I knew was so tightly wrapped up in his Jedi ideals— the Order was his life.”

Luke shrugged, “By the time we were born, the Order was no more. Our father was gone and I think raising us was Obi-Wan’s way of making peace with that. With what he’d lost.”

“Did he teach you the Force?”

“A little but only in the ways of how to protect our minds and control our behaviours. When we were ten, I think we started to develop our abilities a little more because he became paranoid the Sith would find us. That’s why I was adopted by Bail and Luke went off to live on Tatooine, with our step-Uncle and Aunt.”

 _Before he was found by our Sith father,_ went unsaid.

“You’ve been alive this whole time,” Ahsoka still sounded breathless but her words were drowned out by Rex’s hearty laugh as he moved forward, pulling Luke and Leia into a massive bear-hug.

“I knew you were siblings!” He smirked as the twins hugged him back, goofy smiles upon their faces. “I just knew it! It doesn’t surprise me that Skywalker had kids; I can already tell you two will raise Hell just like him!”

“Did Anakin know?”

Ahsoka’s voice was sharp, demanding to be heard. There was a small frown on her face and with the way she was staring, Rex’s grip on the hug slackened.

Luke looked confused, “About what? The pregnancy? Yeah, he did.”

“About you being twins— was he there when you were born? Did he get to hold you?”

Luke’s mouth clamped shut and he looked to Leia, knowing this was walking a line he didn’t want to touch. It wasn’t lying per se but it wasn’t exactly being forthcoming with the truth. But Leia didn’t seem to care as she toed the line of lying, “No, he wasn’t there. He died during the Purge— from my knowledge, he was one of the first to fall.”

Ahsoka sucked in a deep breath, looking as if her heart had been ripped out of her chest. She took a second to compose herself, gathering some unseen courage as she blinked away tears. Her entire form seemed weary and Luke wondered if they’d unnecessarily opened old wounds that hadn’t even scabbed over, sixteen years after the wound had been made.

Ahsoka was about to reply when the door behind her shot open and in whizzed two familiar droids. Artoo let out a few screeches, shooting to Luke and Leia’s side before releasing a few angry whistles and beeps. Threepio followed behind at a slower pace, noticing the other occupants unlike the astromech.

“Slow down Artoo! One would think your circuits are on fire— oh! Mistress Leia! Master Luke! I’m so glad that you’re back! We’ve been looking for you for hours!”

Luke patted Artoo’s dome, smiling down at the still-beeping droid. “We missed you too. We’ve been so busy since getting back; we’re sorry, we should’ve tried to find you.”

“It is quite alright Master Luke; unlike Artoo, I understand that you have important matters to attend.” Threepio’s words had Artoo turning around and letting out a series of beeps and whistles. “I was not being rude Artoo! I was merely stating a fact!”

Before they could break out into an argument, Leia cut in. “When we have a free minute, I’m sure Luke would love to put his story-telling skills to use. We have a lot to tell you.” Artoo beeped in reply.

“Oh I do hope nothing dangerous happened! Artoo and I were most displeased at being left behind!” Artoo beeped again. “I agree with Artoo, Master Luke, Mistress Leia: you must bring us along next time!”

“I promise, next time we’ll bring you along,” Leia smirked, praying that whatever their next mission was, it was slightly less eventful. She doubted Threepio would be able to handle it otherwise.

“I am most pleased Mistress Leia!” Threepio seemed appeased. He then noticed Ahsoka and Rex standing silently beside the twins, his back straightening slightly as his tone changed. “Oh, hello there; I am C-3PO, Human-Cyborg Relations. Are you a friend of Master Luke and Mistress Leia’s?”

Rex pulled a face. “Threepio?” He cringed at the same time Ahsoka knelt to the floor, her hand reaching out for the astromech droid. “Artooie?”

 _‘Artooie?’_ Luke sent a questioning look to Leia who shrugged in retaliation.

Ahsoka patted Artoo’s dome, a small smile on her face. The astromech droid whistled in a low-tone once again. “I never thought I’d see you again, buddy.”

Artoo beeped. “Artoo says he is most pleased to see you too— I must apologise my circuits must be misaligned for I seem to be struggling to place you.” Threepio said.

“You know our droids?” Leia looked between Rex and Ahsoka with a raised eyebrow.

“Threepio was your mother’s annoying droid; he gave me and my brothers headaches each time General Skywalker was assigned to keep the Senator safe. I'm guessing he had a memory wipe if he doesn't remember us.”

("Oh dear me, how terrible! A memory wipe! Who would do such an appalling thing?")

“And Artooie was Anakin’s partner in crime,” Ahsoka patted the astromech droid’s dome once again. “I’m glad they both ended up in your hands, there’s no one better than Artooie to watch your back. It would’ve been what your parents wanted.”

 _Parents_ , Ahsoka paused after she said it. Anakin— her brother in all but blood and in name, the man who’d taught her how to fight, how to lead, how to _live_ — had been a father. Padme— sweet, caring, wonderful Padme who’d always looked out for Ahsoka and supported her whenever she needed it— had been a mother. Their children stood before her now with their parent’s eyes, their hearts and their legacies intertwined.

Ahsoka had spent a lot of the last sixteen years trying to make Anakin and Padme’s memories mean something. She refused to let them be forgotten— for their legacies to be ignored. But with Luke and Leia before her, Ahsoka knew that all her worrying had been for nothing.

“I’m glad that you told me”— and she was, Force, was she glad. Anakin’s children had lived! They were here, doing him proud and fighting for the Republic he’d once fought for as well. She could see Anakin in Luke’s eyes and feel him with Leia’s attitude. Her Master was gone but his children stood tall and strong, never to let his memory die.

"And with your question earlier, about if your mother would've liked you, my answer was inadequate. Luke, Leia, if your parents were here, they would love you-- _adore_ you, even."

Opening up her arms in invitation, all it took was a second before she had Luke and Leia in her embrace. Warm, strong, _alive_ — the perfect mix of the two people Ahsoka had loved the most.

“My Skyguy Juniors.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next few chapters are rather angsty and i'm toying with the idea of adding in an 'interlude' which will just be short extracts of trouble the twins get up to on the Dantooine base for humours (or attempted humours) sake


	20. An Interlude of Mischievous Behaviour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a little collection of short one-shots about the twins on the Dantooine base; some are meant to be funny (emphasis on meant) and others are meant to be cute/emotional/reflective. This chapter serves no purpose to the plot except to add in some fluff before angst. Enjoy :)

It was just past midnight, the base finally quiet as the majority of the Rebels caught up on their needed rest to rejuvenate for the next day. But as Luke laid in his bed, sleep was the farthest thing from his mind.

Thoughts about his father circled around in his head, getting louder and louder with each passing second and Luke began to toss and turn in his bed, feeling physically uncomfortable. It was too quiet in his room; he was used to the sounds of speeders whizzing past his window and the lack of it suddenly had Luke feeling homesick. He should’ve expected this to happen at some point.

The connection he had with Leia suddenly flared and he could sense his sister’s annoyance as if it were his own. _‘Will you stop that? Your insomnia is keeping me up!’_

_‘I can’t help it!’_

_‘You can try!’_

His sister ended their conversation, closing herself off from him to no doubt try and sleep again. Luke tried to do what she’d suggested: he closed his eyes and tried to do nothing but focus on his breathing.

His father had once said that the trick to falling asleep when it seemed impossible was to just relax. Clear your mind and focus on your breathing so your mind gets pulled into a slumber without interruption.

Luke tried it. He really, really did. A whole hour passed before he eventually gave up.

Sleep just didn’t seem to want to come.

Walking around Dantooine’s base, at night, seemed rather odd. The hallway lights were dim and there was no sound of life. If Luke was being honest, it was rather eerie and creepy but he pushed away all memories of past Horror-Holos he’d seen.

Kuna had always loved a good horror, filled with ghosts, clowns and axe-wielding mass murderers and Luke suddenly wished he were more like his former friend and not easily scared by such things. He could almost hear suspenseful music playing in his head, his mind conjuring up images of a bloody-faced clown reaching its hand out to grab Luke’s shoulder . . .

Luke jumped, feeling a shiver run down his spine and he turned around with inhuman speed to put his mind at ease that no one was there. The corridor was empty but Luke couldn’t shake the fear as he began walking faster to the communal area.

Once inside, he wasted no time in closing the door and turning on the Holonet. The sounds of a late night talk show filled the room and even though Luke knew the Holonet provided no actual protection, the voices of comedians and celebrities helped quench his fear.

The communal area wasn’t that large, with only a few sets of sofas, the Holonet mounted on the wall and a dejarik table near the back. Given the Rebels had more important things to do than laze around, the space was only created to let off steam and for people to relax when they had time for a break.

Mindful of the other sleeping occupants on the base, Luke turned the Holonet down as he took a seat on the sofa. There wasn’t much on, given the time, but there was an easy-to-follow movie that Luke had seen a few times playing so he turned it on.

“Since when have you been a fan of rom-coms?”

Luke jumped, feeling like he’d been electrocuted as his body tingled with sheer panic. Leia stood in her pyjamas, her hair ruffled, as she crossed her arms by the door. There was an amused look on her face at the reaction she’d brought out of her brother.

He couldn’t help but groan, feeling as if he’d had a heart attack when he slumped back down on the sofa. “You're such a Hutt,” he muttered as Leia joined him.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

“No,” Luke sighed. “Did I wake you?”

Leia shrugged, not looking as annoyed as she’d sounded earlier. “Not intentionally. Is there any reason for the sudden insomnia? I recall you used to be able to sleep anywhere: there are too many times to count that you used to fall asleep into your cereal at breakfast.”

“It’s too quiet here, I’m used to all this noise and bustle on Coruscant that it’s strange how silent Dantooine is.”

“You slept fine on the ship and it is much quieter in space. And we’ve been on Dantooine for a while now.”

Luke nodded, sighing again. “I know. But I think I’ve settled in now. It’s like my body knows I’m not going back to Coruscant any time soon and I can’t sleep because of it.”

Leia heard what Luke hadn’t wanted to admit. “You are homesick,” she spoke it as a statement and not a question. When Luke didn’t reply, his head hanging a little lower and his cheeks going a little pink, she knew it was true.

“That’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Leia quickly added. “I’m a little homesick, too. And the first two weeks that I was on Alderaan, I couldn’t sleep at all because I missed Naboo so much.”

Luke hummed. “I could barely eat when I first moved to Tatooine.”

Silence settled in as they rested, watching the Holonet as the film played out.

It was raining heavily, the two main characters standing in the middle of the street as they embraced. They seemed to be confessing their undying love, promising to never leave one another again. The female lead was looking up into the eyes of the male and even though it was raining, it was rather obvious she was sobbing.

A sudden ripple of laughter escaped Leia’s throat when the female lead uttered a rather cringe line, unable to keep it together at the serious cheese of the movie.

“Her accent is so forced,” Leia chuckled, getting into a new round of giggles when the female spoke yet again in the heavy Coruscanti accent that sounded too robotic and forced to be real. Obi-Wan had had a Coruscanti accent and this woman was simply butchering it.

Raising her voice to sound more high-pitched, Leia attempted to mimic the female lead. _“No-one compares to you, Jun!”_

Luke smirked at his sister’s attempt. “What about him?” He pointed a finger to the male lead on the Holonet screen, suddenly making his voice low and husky. _“I’m only complete when I’m with you, Shai!”_

They burst out laughing, unable to help themselves from mimicking the actors each time they spoke with their terrible accents. The dialogue was almost painful to listen to, the words spoken being so cheesy that they could be skewered and served at a party to guests. But the twins found joy in it, laughing together at how utterly terrible the film seemed to be.

Leia placed her hand over heart, fluttering her eyelids a million times in exaggeration of the female lead’s terrible acting. _“My whole heart is yours, Jun! Take it! Take it—_ “ her acting was broken by giggles that racked her body, the sound of it mixing in with Luke’s as he clutched his sides laughing.

However, it was when the male lead almost fell over in the rain— a poor attempt at humour on the Director’s part— that the twins completely lost it. ( _“Oh Jun, you silly fool!”)_ The terrible acting, mixed in with poor dialogue and the cringe humour had Luke and Leia breathless as they laughed.

“Who— ever— wrote this— was— on— spice,” Luke choked out the words, wheezing slightly as he spoke. It wasn’t until the end of the credits rolling on the screen that the fit of giggles came to an end. Luke was gathering himself up off the floor from where he’d fallen and Leia wiped away a few tears that had rolled down her cheeks. They both felt out of breath and as if a load of serotonin had just flooded their bodies.

“I missed this,” Leia’s voice was suddenly sombre, the laughter fading from her system.

Luke was quiet as he sat back down on the sofa, this time closer to his twin to provide what little comfort he could. “I think there’s an action Holo playing next,” he whispered in the end.

The unspoken words of ‘let’s make up for lost time’ didn’t go unheard and as the next Holo geared up to play, the twins pressed their shoulders together and allowed themselves to just live in the moment. Who knew how many more times they could rest and spend time like this?

Before they knew it, one Holo would end and another would start.

And yet the twins did not move; they sat on the sofa, mimicking the acting, booing the villains and voicing their theories on how characters fates would turn out.

(“He’s going to die.”

“He is not going to die.”

“I can just tell, he’s going to die.”

Spoiler: he died.)

And as the sun rose on the new day, Luke and Leia paid little attention to anything other than the simplistic joy they were having at the Holonet playing terrible movies they couldn’t help but love to watch.

Here, there was no War . . .

(“I bet the murderer is the butler.”

“Nah, it has to be the nanny.”

“Butler.”

“Nanny.”

“Butler.”

“Nanny.”

“I guess we’ll see.”

It was neither, the busboy did it.)

No Empire . . .

(“Did she really just choose her toxic ex over the quirky neighbour??”

“This Holo is rigged.”)

No Sith father . . .

(“I think I could be a stunt double.”

“I don’t see why not; you’re probably the best for the job: it doesn’t matter if you hit your head, there’s nothing actually working in there to get hurt.”

“Hey!”)

It was just Luke and Leia, as it always should’ve been.

By midday, nearly everyone on Dantooine had heard the whisperings about how Princess Organa and Luke Lars had been discovered in the morning, fast asleep on the sofa with Lars’ head on the Princess’ shoulder as the Holonet played an indistinct film from up above.

* * *

“Are you seriously trying to back out? This whole thing was your idea!” Leia huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she gave Luke an annoyed look.

They were outside in the grassy plains of Dantooine, standing a few feet away from the base in the faux farm land the Rebels had adopted as cover for their true intentions for being on the planet. The soil was hard underneath their feet from not being ploughed and there was a slight breeze in the air.

Luke returned Leia’s annoyed gaze. “It was not! I just said that it might do good to get some target practise in— you were the one who then decided to put this ridiculous plan into motion.”

There was a stack of plates by Leia’s feet that they’d stolen from the Rebellion’s kitchen only minutes prior and Luke’s fingers were wrapped around a blaster, the safety hatch on. Even in the fields with no one around to get hurt and the targets being inanimate objects, something didn’t sit right in Luke’s chest.

“Are you being chicken?” Leia goaded, pulling a pouty face she knew would infuriate her brother. “Buck, buck, buck, little baby chicken?”

“Stop trying to manipulate me!”

“Look, you were right when you said we needed some target practise. We’re already out here, we’ve already stolen some plates . . . so why not just go through with it? At least by the end, our aims will be better.”

Luke pointed a finger at her, his frown going. “This is not about improving our aim and you know it! If there’s anything we need practice on, it’s lightsaber training, not target practise.”

Leia rolled her eyes. “And how are we meant to do lightsaber training with only one lightsaber? No, shooting practise is all we’ve got so if you’re going to be a chicken, then please leave the grown ups to the blaster.”

“I’m not chicken!”

“I find that hard to believe.”

Luke knew he shouldn’t let Leia’s goading beat him. If Obi-Wan were here (ignoring the fact they’d be in a lot of trouble), he would tell Luke not to let his sister’s words affect him so. Yet something in Luke stirred, a competitive side inside him awoke and he knew he was a goner. Especially with her next words.

“You’re just scared because you know I’m better at shooting than you.”

“Don’t make me laugh, Leia.”

“You think you’re better?”

“I know I am.”

“Then prove it.”

Luke flicked off the safety hatch, raising the blaster up and holding it with two arms. He felt a buzz of adrenaline, his mind going back to the six months he’d spent on Tatooine where a blaster had practically been a third limb to him. Life on Coruscant (and Naboo, for that matter) had not needed for him to learn to shoot and whilst he knew Leia had spent the last six years receiving training as precautionary measures, he knew that didn’t mean he was outmatched.

Within the first week of moving to Tatooine, Uncle Owen had shoved a blaster in his hand and practically forced Luke to learn how to use it. _You’ll be needing it,_ Uncle Owen had said.

He ignored Leia’s smirk as she used the Force to lift up one of the plates, having it hover up in the air and away from both their heads. The last thing they’d need would be for splinters of porcelain to rain down on them and provide injury.

Luke breathed out, feeling the Force surround him and guide his instinct for clear aim. It took a second but then Luke felt a ring of accuracy and he knew he had the plate in his sights.

He fired one blast . . . and missed.

Leia’s laugh was boisterous and very un-Princess like. There was a glee in her eyes and Luke noticed the plate was still hovering in the air, except now it was several centimetres west of where it had previously been.

“You cheated!”

Leia crossed her arms over her chest with a smug look. “Normal targets don’t stay still so why should this one?”

“You never said it would be a moving target Leia!”

His sister just shrugged, making Luke’s annoyance flair. He wondered how someone could be so insufferable. It was like Leia’s whole goal in life was to purposely get on his nerves.

“I want to go again,” Luke growled, raising the blaster again.

“Are you sure it won’t just hurt your ego even more?” Leia cooed and Luke was two seconds away from calling her a nasty name when he let his annoyance go, focusing instead on the Force and the blaster he was aiming in the sky.

“Do it again.”

The plate hovered in the air and as Luke took aim at it, he sensed his sister’s mischievousness and fired a second blast after the first, this one more east. The blast hit the plate and the loud sound of a crash surrounded them, splinters of porcelain falling down like snow.

“Ha! See, I did it!”

“Whatever,” Leia rolled her eyes, stepping forward to take the blaster. “I bet I can do it on my first try.”

She’d just wrapped her fingers around the blaster, a cocky look upon her face when a yell from down the field had both Luke and Leia freezing. The head chef, a rather buff Twi’leck male, was heading towards them yelling insults and shaking his green fist in the air.

“Oi, you two! Come here! How dare you steal from me!”

The twins shared a look, both their eyes widening at being caught, before looking to the broken plate that lay scattered on the floor. It was as if they shared one mind, their eyes meeting with panic before Luke uttered “Run?”

Leia nodded enthusiastically, flicking on the safety hatch on the blaster. “Run.”

By the time the chef made it to the abandoned stack of plates, Luke and Leia were long gone.

* * *

Rex knew the second he walked into Luke’s quarters that he’d caught the twins in the midst of their mischievousness. Nothing seemed out of place but Luke and Leia were standing side by side, their hands clasped behind their backs and they each had a forced expression of innocence upon their faces.

Now, Rex was no Jedi— he couldn’t use the Force nor could he read minds but he was no idiot. After all, he used to be a Captain of a very advanced battalion during the war and such things didn’t just happen when one was dim.

Something was going on and Rex knew it. Luke and Leia looked too guilty, trying to act like they weren’t, for there not to be some kind of mischievousness going on.

And with the twins past few days, he knew not to underestimate what kind of trouble they could get into. From stealing the kitchen plates for target practice, using Artoo as if he were a jet-pack, riding around on the poor droid as his jet-boosters lifted them up in the air and hover-boarding through the Rebellion’s halls, Rex knew the actual list of all the trouble Luke and Leia had stirred was much longer.

“Uh, hey,” Luke’s voice went suddenly high-pitched, his cheeks turning a red colour as he coughed before speaking in a forced deeper tone. “Hey Rex, what’s up?”

Rex decided to just cut to the chase. “Is this yours?” He lifted up a deflated ball like it was court room evidence, extending his arm out so the twins could look at it more clearly.

From the looks on their faces, he knew that he’d caught them.

But then Leia schooled her expression and shook her head. “Never seen it before.”

“Uh, yeah, what she said,” Luke swallowed heavily, looking highly uncomfortable.

Rex wondered why everything had to be so difficult when it came to Skywalkers. But then he paused, changing his line of thought. In all honesty, Rex didn’t know if this difficultly presented by the twins was more from their Skywalker side of their heritage or their Amidala. Rex had been no where near as close to Luke and Leia’s mother as he had been to their father but from what time he had spent with Senator Amidala, he knew her stubbornness was almost unparalleled.

“Really?” He crossed his arms, deciding to just play with the situation. _Force, give him strength._ “Because several people have stated they saw you two playing with this ball earlier.”

“Then those ‘several people’ need to get their eyesight checked out because Luke and I have been here nearly all afternoon,” Leia gestured to Luke’s room, her unfazed expression something she definitely inherited from her father. The amount of times Rex had seen Anakin pull that look when lying to General Kenobi was outstanding.

“Yeah,” Luke nodded his head. “Leia and I had nothing to do with the broken window!”

 _Gotcha_ , Rex tried not to smile. “I never mentioned anything about a broken window.”

The second the words left his mouth, Rex could see realisation dawn upon Luke. Leia let out a swear, her voice raising an octave as she turned on her brother, yelling insults.

“You nerfherder! Ugh, you karking moon-jockey; Luke, seriously I wonder if you even have a brain sometimes!”

“Calm down,” Rex rolled his eyes at her dramatics. He actually found Luke’s inability to lie or lack of savviness endearing. “I already knew you did it before the slip up.”

“How?”

Rex gave Leia hard stare. “How could it _not_ have been you?” Even to that, she didn’t have a defence.

A second passed before Leia spoke again. “Well, it was Luke’s fault—“

The boy in question turned to his sister, his mouth dropping open like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What? It was _your_ fault, Leia!”

“You were the idiot who kicked it!”

“But you threw it at me, I had no choice!”

“You were still the one who caused the damage!”

“Because of you! And you were the reason we ran!”

“I wanted to stay and get help!”

“You yelled RUN and took off down the hall!”

“But _you_ followed me!”

Rex honestly wondered how his life had come to this. Sixteen years ago, he’d been the Captain of the 501st, serving one of the best, if orthodox, Jedi in the Order and fighting bravely in the name of the Republic. He’d always respected Anakin, seeing him more as a friend than a superior and Rex knew the sentiment had been shared.

And whilst Rex had always known Skywalker had not been one to stick to rules (seriously, Skywalker and Amidala hadn’t even been subtle) he’d never expected this outcome. If someone had told him, sixteen years ago, that one day he’d be forced to play disciplinarian to Skywalker’s unruly and mischievous children, Rex would’ve laughed in their face. He would’ve asked if perhaps he was the victim of a prank on behalf of Fives and probably Jesse (both of which had been main pranksters in their battalion) and he would’ve shrugged it all off.

But as Rex stood before Luke and Leia now, seeing them get angrier and angrier as they pointed the blame in the opposite direction, Rex realised that sometimes life didn’t take a person where they expected it to go.

After all, all his brothers were dead, the Republic he’d tried to defend had been debunked from the inside and all that he had left of one of his closest friends were the children he’d passed his legacy onto.

Children who looked just about ready to kill one another.

“Oi! You’re both to blame here! I don’t care who threw what or who kicked what, that window is shattered and its both your faults.” Rex paused a second, glad that Luke and Leia had ended their argument, if only for a minute. “Are you two even trying to be subtle anymore?”

“Subtle?” Luke frowned, looking utterly confused.

“Here you two are, messing around and causing havoc. People are starting a talk and no one seems to understand what is going on with you two. Now, I know who you are and I know that your troublesome ways is completely genetic but none of the other Rebels know that. They’re all confused as to why a previously judicious Princess is suddenly acting like a rebellious child.”

Leia sobered, knowing Rex had a point. These past few days she’d been taking advantage of the spare time on the base to just hang out with her brother and have fun. But what seemed to be their idea of fun was what others would call mischievousness.

Even though they’d been reunited, they were still meant to keep up with their ruse about being a Princess and farm-boy. They’d just forgotten that fact the past few days.

“Fine,” Leia sighed. “You’re right, we need to be more careful. Less obvious.”

Luke nodded. “We’ll stay out of trouble from now on.”

Just as he said it, the lamp beside his bed suddenly broke apart. From the looks of it, it had been sliced in two and the two halves were still singed from what looked to be a laser cutter type of mark. The fact it had stayed together for so long astounded Rex and as the second part fell to the floor, it shattered with an ear-splintering crash.

Luke clutched his father’s lightsaber even more tightly behind his back, his knuckles going white as he gripped the metal in a death grip. They’d been playing with it moments before Rex had walked in and Luke wondered why the Force hated him so much that it couldn’t have held the broken lamp together for a moment longer so Rex could leave without ever knowing.

When Rex’s expression became more stoney, Leia gave him a half-hearted smile. “Starting now.”

* * *

Luke kneeled on the floor beside Leia’s bed, his chin propped up on her mattress as he watched the lizard they’d found and adopted run around on the sheets. They’d been doing their best to stay out of trouble as per Rex’s request when they’d spotted the lizard running around the floor of the canteen. They’d tried to release him into the wild and away from the thousands of feet threatening to crush him but the lizard had refused to leave.

Hence why he was now adopted and living in Leia’s room.

“I think we should name him Jacen,” Leia smiled down at the lizard. She was sitting cross-legged by the foot of the bed, watching as their new pet roamed around, pausing every now and then to turn in a different direction.

The lizard was rather small, quite possibly a baby, with black stripes going down its back. Its face was angular and squished-looking but it had large, black eyes and a wide mouth which housed a long tongue with black dots speckled across it.

It wasn’t cute by normal standards but the twins had decided to make it one of their own anyway.

Luke crinkled up his nose at the name. “No, how about ‘Luke’?”

“You want to name a lizard after you?”

“What? No! It’s a mix of both our names!”

“How is ‘Luke’ a mix of _both_ our names? It's just your name,” Leia crossed her arms with an unamused look.

“But the ‘L’ comes from Leia and the ‘uke’ comes from me.”

“And when you put it together it becomes _Luke—_ as in, your name.”

Luke pouted, ignoring his sister’s eye roll. “Whatever, it was just a suggestion.”

The lizard paused, sticking out its long tongue to pick up a piece of fruit they’d put on the bed for it to eat. He seemed to like it, munching away before going for more.

“What about Jun, from the Holofilm we watched?”

“Nah.”

“What about Skywalker?”

Again, Leia looked at her brother as if he were moronic. With his name suggestions, she felt bad for any possible nieces and nephews she’d have in the future. “Seriously?’’

Luke looked confused, as if he didn’t understand why his sister was so unimpressed. “What about it?”

“We can’t name him Skywalker Skywalker!”

“Why not?”

“He’ll be bullied by all the other lizards!”

Luke made a scoffing sound, waving a hand in a cool gesture. “Whatever, he’s better than those guys. They’ll just be jealous of his cool name.”

Leia was about to rebuke her twin’s word and utter an insult under her breath when she looked at the lizard once more. Despite it being a baby, it had a scar going down over its right eye, the red line standing out on its pale skin. She didn’t know why but Luke’s suggestion didn’t seem as idiotic anymore.

She let out a sigh, sounding hard-pressed. “Welcome to the family, baby Skywalker Skywalker.”

In response, Skywalker ate another piece of fruit, seemingly happy with the name given to him. The twins continued to sit on the floor, watching their new recruit run around on the bed and eat. After promising Rex to tone it down on the trouble yesterday, things had been rather dull — Leia found her time occupied either by meetings with Rebel leaders and Generals or wandering through the base in search of Luke (who more often that not was at Tripp Vero’s side).

Finding and adopting Skywalker seemed to be their saving grace in hanging out without trouble being caused.

( _A miracle_ , as Obi-Wan would say.)

This miracle, however, was interrupted when Threepio waltzed into the room, Artoo at his heels. At the sight of the lizard, the astromech droid let out a piercing shriek, turning round in circles in the same manner of horror one would when seeing a spider. This, in turn, freaked out the newly adopted Skywalker and the lizard rushed off to hide under Leia’s pillow.

“Artoo!” Leia yelled at the droid, hoping to shut him up. “Stop that!”

“End that racket, Artoo!” Threepio joined in, his words finally getting the astromech droid to calm down. He let out a few beeps, rolling forwards like a curious child.

Luke placed a piece of fruit in his palm, placing it down on the bed where Skywalker Skywalker was hiding. Slowly, the lizard was coaxed out and he happily munched on the fruit, resting on Luke’s palm like nothing had happened.

“Come meet the new addition Artoo,” Luke whispered, moving his hand with upmost gentleness as he presented the lizard to the astromech droid. It was like a parent introducing their first-born to their new sibling.

Artoo beeped questioningly, his dome rotating ever so slightly as he studied the lizard resting on Luke’s palm.

“Oh, you found a Dantooine Grass Lizard, Master Luke,” Threepio shuffled closer as well, spouting as many facts as he could about the creature in Luke’s hand. Leia listened intensely, learning that they live for approximately five to eight years, prey upon bugs in the grassy plains and can have about three to nine babies with each pregnancy.

And then Threepio just had to say more.

“Fun fact about the Dantooine Grass Lizard, Master Luke, Mistress Leia; several of the species have a genetic mutation that actually makes them extremely poisonous to most lifeforms if bitten. The only way to tell this genetic mutation is if it has black spots on its tongue— oh my!”

The lizard stuck out its tongue, the end of it slapping against Artoo’s dome, causing the astromech to screech once again. The pitch black dots on its pinkish tongue were in full display and suddenly Threepio started yelling as well. At Threepio’s fun fact, Luke reared back, the— as it turns out, poisonous— lizard falling to the floor before scrambling off to hide under the wardrobe door.

Leia yelled when it hit the floor, Luke following suit and before they knew it, they were sitting on Leia’s bed, legs pulled to their chests, as the lizard hissed and made snapping sounds at Artoo whenever the droid rolled closer to its hiding place.

“How are we meant to get out of this one?” Leia groaned, her forehead hitting her knees. They were both terrified of stepping off the bed in the fear that the lizard bite at them with the poisonous fangs they now saw peeking out its mouth.

She thought of moments ago when they’d watched the lizard race around on this very bed— _oh how the mighty fall_ , Leia thought to herself. As fast as Skywalker Skywalker had been added to their family, he was out just as quickly.

Amidst the sounds of Artoo screeching, the lizard hissing and Threepio repeatedly worrying about impending death, Luke and Leia sat back on the bed and sighed. So much for staying out of trouble. It looked like they’d be here for a while.

(In the end, Ahsoka had to come save them by using the Force to lift the hissing lizard out of its hiding place. She rolled her eyes at them once the lizard had been banished and refused to listen as Luke and Leia bickered over whose fault it had been.)

* * *

Leia found her brother sitting beside a low window in one of the abandoned rooms on the base. It was late at night— or rather, very early in the morning— and for the second time in the span of three days, Leia had found herself awoken because of Luke’s insomnia.

Her brother always tried his best to avoid the topic of Vader whenever in her presence, knowing that there was a rather high chance it would end in an argument, but Leia wasn’t blind. As she’d suspected a few nights ago, Luke was homesick. He missed his father.

As Leia inched closer, knowing that whether she wanted to discuss Vader or not, Luke needed her right now so be here she would, she noticed that his hand was pressed up to the glass of the window. There was something distant yet awe-like in his eyes as he stared out into the night before him, listening to the sound of the rain pour down.

It had been raining heavily on Dantooine for the past day, a miniature storm having picked up and refusing to leave. As Leia sat beside her brother, Luke not sparing a glance away from the fat raindrops splattering against the glass, she had to admit that there was something soothing about the sound.

A flash of white glowed somewhere in the distance, off to the left in the sky and whilst the lightning was obstructed by the night and the heavy clouds, Leia counted in her head until the rumbling thunder suddenly roared. _7 seconds,_ she noted to herself.

The rain was coming down like a monsoon outside, turning into one harmonious chorus, and the wind ruffled the leaves of the trees surrounding the base. Leia took a second to take the noise in, finding herself relax as she watched the beads of water splatter across the window and thunder down from the sky.

“Sometimes it still shocks me,” Luke’s voice was quiet, almost drowned out by the loud noise of the sudden thunder.

“What does?”

Leia glanced sideways at her brother, watching how enthralled he was by the storm outside. He looked like a child who couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Like a fairytale had come true.

“The rain.”

Leia couldn’t help but frown, wondering why this sudden appreciation for storms came from. Naboo was known to have several rainstorms in the winter seasons and never before, as children, had Luke reacted in such a way to the weather. He’d always been the first to complain if the storm meant he couldn’t go outside and play or if it meant having to wear the wellingtons he hated so much to school.

“I never knew you had such a fondness for the rain?”

Luke’s hand on the glass moved, one of his fingers trailing a raindrop that ran down the window. “Living on Tatooine changes all of that. Six months of excruciating heat where rain is nonexistent— trust me, you develop a fondness for it.”

“Did it ever rain on Coruscant?”

“Not really, not like this.”

Leia turned her head back to the window, memories of sitting in her bedroom in the Palace coming flooding back. How many times had she stared out the massive glass doors that had led to her balcony, watching the rain fall down? How many times had she wished for Luke to be by her side so they could go outside and jump in the mud as they had on Naboo?

It was another reminder of how vastly different their upbringings had been in the past six years. A Princess and a farm-boy turned Imperial Prince. Leia wondered if this was the first time Luke had seen the rain since leaving Naboo. It was a rather chilling thought.

“Come with me,” Leia stood up before the plan had even been finalised in her mind. There was no room for nonsense in her tone and Luke blinked up at her like she’d lost a few marbles.

“What?”

“Come with me— come on.”

“Where to? Why?” There was a skeptical look upon Luke’s face and Leia didn’t know if she should be offended at how little her twin trusted her. But, then again, had the situations been reversed, Leia didn’t know if she would’ve trusted Luke if he’d tried to boss her around so early in the morning.

“Come on, you’ll see.”

It took a second longer but eventually Luke dragged himself away from the window and the sound of the outside storm. They walked in silence through the base, passing only various cleaning droids and the occasional other insomniacs who paid them no heed at all. Leia could sense Luke’s wariness in the Force as they walked, his every step being akin to a man walking to his death.

However, it didn’t take long to reach their destination and all senses of wariness ebbed away from Luke, replaced by complete and utter confusion. Leia ignored his questioning looks as she pushed open the backdoor to the base, the sound of the rain increasing as the surroundings came into full view.

It was pouring down now, the rain mere inches from them as they stood in the doorway of the base, looking out into the storm before them. The air creeping in was a little chilly, the bitter breeze nipping at their skin but neither of them seemed to care as they stared transfixed at the rain coming down. The smell of the water falling from the sky wafted into their noses and for a second, both Luke and Leia froze.

It reminded them of their childhood.

( _They were running through the wet fields, their wellingtons squelching underneath their feet. Mud jumped up and stained their clothes and the downpour surrounding them made everything hazy. Dark clouds covered the sky but as they ran, their children-sized feet moving with such energy, none of that mattered. Obi-Wan was calling from afar, telling them to come inside before they caught a cold but Luke was tapping Leia’s shoulder yelling “Your it!” and suddenly Obi-Wan’s voice was drowned out by the rain and the giggles that enveloped the field.)_

Luke wasn’t sure what the true intention was behind Leia’s plan to bring him to the exit of the base, the storm facing them as the trees shook and the rain continued to pour down. Standing here, in the doorway, the noise was deafening, the rustling, the howling of the wind and the downpour all rolling into one.

But for whatever intention, Luke appreciated it.

A rush of energy overcame him and he reached out to Leia, tapping her shoulder with a grin as he yelled “Your it!” And then he ran outside. He didn’t care that he was in his pyjamas or that he was barefooted. Within seconds, the rain covered him and every inch of his body was soaking wet; his hair was matted to his face, his blonde fringe falling into his eyes and underneath his feet, mud and flecks of grass mushed between his toes.

But Luke felt alive as he ran, rain drops rolling down his nose and chin in one continuous pace.

Tatooine had always been so hot, the drought never ending, and there had never been any space to run on Coruscant. And no one to run with.

Leia came shooting out of the base with a loud giggle, the sounds of her feet squelching making Luke run faster. “Your it!” She managed to slap his shoulder when he attempted to dodge past her and for the first time in a long time, Luke felt his age.

Chests heaving, their game forgotten, Luke looked up into the dark sky. The rain felt like a grace as it dropped down onto his face, the grey clouds looking like everything he’d dreamt for when surrounded by the cloudless days on Tatooine.

His clothes felt heavy upon his skin, a cloud of fog came out of his mouth when he breathed and he was more than covered in mud at this point but when Luke looked to his sister, he noticed she had her face tilted up to the sky as well.

“Thank you.”

He didn’t feel any more needed to be said.

* * *

Ahsoka rolled her eyes for the millionth time, gathering what little patience she had left— which, honestly, was not a lot. She’d never had her patience be tested so greatly before and she knew, once she left this room, she would leave a completely different person (a far more irritated person.)

“Luke!”

The boy in question snapped his head up from where he’d been glaring at his sister, meeting her gaze in the mirror sitting before him. The normally well-mannered boy had a glum expression on his face and his attitude rivalled Leia’s on a good day.

“What?”

It took Ahsoka a second to remember that this was Luke not Anakin.

(Luke had a far more sunnier disposition than his father ever had but when he frowned, Ahsoka sometimes found her breath being caught in her throat. The resemblance really was uncanny.)

“Stop moving your head!” Ahsoka reached out to tilt the boy’s head forwards a little. It was the millionth time she’d had to readjust him and if he moved his head once again, Ahsoka knew she would either snap, tell Leia to leave or completely give up.

Probably the latter.

Luke crossed his arms, still in a sulky mood, but he didn’t move his head— thank the Force!

“I don’t understand why this is necessary. I don’t need a haircut!”

Ahsoka’s only response was to pause in picking up the scissors, shooting him a one-eyebrow look in the mirror. Leia, however, forever her father’s daughter, snorted.

“Luke, your hair was growing out so long that I actually thought you were starting to style it like Chewbacca.”

Luke rolled his eyes, mumbling something incoherent under his breath. They were in the fresher of his room, Ahsoka having finally forced him into a haircut. Where Luke was sitting in a chair facing the mirror and Ahsoka was behind him playing hairdresser, Leia sat cross-legged on the fresher counter, a smirk upon her face.

(The girl was a clone of Padme but there was no question as to who her father had been. On a good day, Leia had her mother’s grace but underneath her professional facade, her Skywalker roots sprung free.)

“Scratch that,” Leia couldn’t help herself from digging deeper. “With the way your hair was growing, I actually thought you _were_ Chewbacca. You almost gave me a heart-attack thinking I brought Chewie to the Rebellion and that my brother was still on the Falcon!”

Ahsoka wasn’t sure if Luke did it because he was trying to test her patience or because he genuinely forgot but the boy moved his head upwards. He stuck his tongue out at Leia and Ahsoka honestly hoped it had been worth it.

“Luke! Stop moving!”

“Are you even qualified to cut hair?” Luke asked once his head had been adjusted again and Ahsoka felt it was safe to actually start cutting. The boy really knew how to grind someone’s gears but the last thing she wanted to do was maim Anakin’s son— no doubt her Master would look down on that in whatever afterlife place he was in with the Force.

“I used to cut your Dad’s hair all the time,” Ahsoka shrugged, snipping off more blonde strands. “And Master Kenobi’s on occasion.”

This piqued Leia’s interest, her teasing ways coming to a halt. “You did?”

“Yeah, during the War. Sometime’s battles waged longer than expected and we were planet-side for weeks or months overdue. Anakin actually preferred his hair longer, he always said he was growing it out but he trusted me to do little cuts so it wouldn’t become unkempt.”

“Maybe I want to grow my hair out like Dad?” Luke tried to look up at Ahsoka through the mirror but with the angle of his head facing down, it proved impossible. He hoped the floor appreciated his pout, however.

Ahsoka smirked, snipping off even more hair. “No chance.”

Luke tried to stay silent as Ahsoka carried on with her impromptu haircut, watching as more and more blonde strands littered the floor by his feet. He wasn’t a fan of the long hair and despite his begrudging attitude, he was glad to see most of it go.

Although, if he looked up at the end and saw that he was now bald, Luke knew he would never forgive Ahsoka. Or Leia, for letting it happen.

“I’m so glad your getting a haircut,” Leia cut into the silence. “I was getting tired of people constantly asking why I had a Yeti following behind me.”

Luke’s head shot up and he glared at his sister with pure malice. “Sleemo!”

Ahsoka growled, Leia’s responding chuckle being drowned out. “Luke, if you move _one more time_ then you’ll lose an ear!”

“Good!” The boy huffed, slumping in his head. “That way I won’t have to listen to Leia’s kriffing annoying comments.”

Silence resumed once again, par the sound of the scissors as Ahsoka continued with the much-needed haircut Luke had been cornered into having. _Snip, snip, snip . . ._

“You know,” Ahsoka cut into the quiet when she walked around to face Luke, lifting his head up so she could cut his growing fringe. “Anakin hated his haircuts too. He couldn’t sit still for very long and I’m sure being glued to the chair for the ten minutes it took to give him a cut was torture for him. But Master Kenobi always forced him to get one and there was no arguing with Obi-Wan when it came to such matters— but I’m sure you know that already.”

Luke thought of the thousands of times he’d nearly brought Obi-Wan to the brink of insanity with how much he’d whined about getting a haircut. Towards the end, before their separation, the elder man had resorted to bribery in order to get Luke to comply.

_(“I’ll give you two scoops of ice-cream if you sit still for the haircut, okay?”)_

“Obi-Wan always had a unique negotiating method,” Leia smirked, thinking back to all the times bedtime had turned from an argument to a negotiation. (Obi-Wan had always negotiated two bedtime stories for the price of the twins going to bed without any fight, knowing very well that they’d be asleep before the first story even finished.)

Ahsoka hummed, taking a second to snip one last strand off Luke’s fringe before stepping back and admiring her handiwork. “There, it’s perfect.”

Luke couldn’t help but agree. It was short but not too much so; he still looked like himself but there was a stylish twist that he couldn’t help but credit Ahsoka for.

“Behold, the Yeti is gone!”

Despite having it at his service 24/7, Luke hardly ever used the Force— not consciously at least. He’d been taught by Obi-Wan at a very young age on how to make objects float and to shield his mind but he’d never been encouraged to use the Force. _It is too risky,_ Obi-Wan had always said and his object of teaching had always been to help protect them, not for them to use the Force to their will.

But as Leia mocked him for the millionth time, a sparkle lighting in her eyes as she let her Princess pretence lower in the privacy of his room, he found himself unable to refrain from using the Force to flick some of the water Ahsoka was washing her hands with at his sister. Leia let out a gasp as the water splashed her, like a gust of wind had brought it up from the tap to her face.

Throughout their childhood, moments like this had occurred numerous times. Obi-Wan had been forced to crack down on punishments when usage of the Force had been used to make objects fly and become weapons. (The amount of times Luke had been hit by Leia’s flying shoes or Leia had sent toys whipping through the air at her brother had reached the thousands.)

“Luke!”

And then Leia flicked her hand and the water from the tap shot out and splashed against his face. It wasn’t much but the droplets fell to his lap, creating a little puddle.

“You’re trained?” Ahsoka’s shocked call was what ended the brewing water fight, both Luke and Leia’s hands falling to their laps as the tap shut off.

“Uh, not much.”

“We've already told you we were trained.”

 _‘Let’s change this conversation,’_ Leia’s gaze met her brother’s as she hopped off the refresher counter, heading towards Luke’s bedroom.

_‘Don’t need to tell me twice.’_

Ahsoka followed them into the bedroom, watching them intensely. “You said Obi-Wan only taught you a little. I thought you'd be on mere youngling level, subconsciously using the Force but unable to touch it properly. Not that you can manipulate things to your will.”

Luke hummed as he flicked on the portable radio he’d managed to fix after finding it amongst some junk earlier in the week. He fiddled with the dial for a second to avoid eye-contact with Ahsoka until he managed to tune in to a station.

The music that wafted into the room was rather old, the station being one that preferred the era of before the Clone Wars.

“You two will need proper training! Learning the basics isn't enough! With your abilities, you're at risk of being manipulated by the Sith!"

Leia rolled her eyes, really hoping this conversation would end soon. "Do you see any Sith around here?"

"What about the future? Do you wish to remain partially trained for your entire lives?"

Luke mumbled "No," at the same time Leia crossed her arms and stated: "Maybe." At her words, Ahsoka raised an eyebrow. Never in her life had Leia ever had any desire to be a Jedi. Being able to use the Force had always come naturally to her, whether consciously or subconsciously but she'd never thought deeply about it. Using the Force and wielding a lightsaber were things Leia saw as bonuses, not thing she wanted to dedicate her life to. (Her heart itched too much to propose drafts, write speeches and help people through the proposition of bills and laws).

"You aren't even a Jedi," Leia stated factually, sounding like her mother for a moment. The song on the radio continued to play, the instrumental melody helping to take away some of the room's tension. "Why would you care if we become Jedi or not?"

"It isn't about becoming Jedi! It's about reaching your full potential," Ahsoka crossed her arms over her chest in a way Luke had seen his father do before. With Leia in the same pose, he wondered how his father managed to dominate a room he wasn't even in. "I can sense your powerful and if you've already tapped your abilities why not achieve it all?"

"Because we don't want too."

_'You don't need to speak for me, Leia,'_ Luke sighed across their bond, wondering why he always seemed to be stuck in the same arguments. The day the Force wasn't a cause of an argument, he would give the Emperor a hug-- actually, no, not even then.

"Being trained would be for your safety as well."

"It isn't a bad idea," Luke couldn't help but weigh in. He tried to ignore how his sister was suddenly glaring at him. To anyone else, Leia Skywalker's glare was practically an omen of death that could get men twice Luke's age to cry but whilst not immune, Luke had learnt quickly on how to not cower under it. His twin glared at him all too often for him to shake in his boots each time she set her gaze upon him.

Ahsoka raised a hand in Luke's direction, an eyebrow raised. She felt as if she were fighting with Anakin, her Master's stubbornness having been something akin to a brick wall. It seemed Leia had inherited that stubbornness as well. "See, Luke agrees with me--"

Her words were suddenly cut off, the argument forgotten, when the song on the radio ended and a new one began. The new one was just as slow as the last, the melody sweeter and the soft tones of the singer felt like a lullaby to Ahsoka's heart. Memories came flooding back, the song having unlocked things that time had forced her to forget. The smell of exquisite food, the way a chandelier would dazzle as the sun hit it just right, the glittering of ballgowns she'd never been allowed to wear. She could hear Padme's laugh and see the way her eyes lit up as she caught Ahsoka's gaze, the clinking of glasses came back as the song hit its beautiful chorus and for a second Ahsoka saw Anakin; she saw the way his eyes were soft, the way his lips turned up in a smirk and felt his strong elbow nudge her gently as he whispered _Y_ _ou getting bored, Snips?_

"Ahsoka?" Luke's voice cut in through the memories and when Ahsoka blinked, it was like a haze being batted away. "Are you okay?"

The song continued to play, the singer sounding like an angel and subconsciously, Leia found herself swaying to the tune. It was soft and inspiring, singing about eternal love and never giving up.

"This was your mother's favourite song."

The words sounded broken as they left her throat. The use of _was_ made Ahsoka want to pull on her montrals and scream. “I haven’t heard this song in nearly sixteen years. Whenever she hosted a party or ball of some kind, this song was always on the playlist near the end and every time, she danced with your father to it. They really weren’t subtle.”

Ahsoka blinked as the image of Padme and Anakin threatened to take over her mind. She could remember how obvious Anakin had been whenever this song would play and he'd attempt to act casual as he walked over to Senator Amidala, offering his hand with a smile and a _may I have this dance, Senator?_ They'd sway on the ballroom floor, their feet moving in time with the waltz-like tune and Ahsoka had never cared about the Jedi or the Code that had dictated her life because her Master had looked so happy.

With the song in the midst of its chorus once again, suddenly sounding so wonderful and beautiful now that Luke knew this had been his mother's favourite song (he wondered if she would've sung it to them when they'd gone to bed had she made it off Polis Massa), he offered his hand to Leia with a small smile. "May I have this dance, Princess?"

(For the six years she’d spent on Alderaan, Leia had hated dancing. Bail had forced her to get lessons, stating it was a skill all Princesses must learn and perfect. _It shows elegance and poise,_ he’d told her when her when she’d complained. _But I hate it,_ Leia had argued back and Bail had just smiled in a knowing way, telling her she’d grow to love it if she gave it a chance.)

(She’d never grown to love it because dancing reminded her too much of the evenings Obi-Wan would let the radio play on the last weekend night before school and he’d push back the furniture so they could spin around in the free space to tire them out before bed.)

(Ballroom etiquette had been taught to the Jedi before their lessons had been taken up with military strategics and in the comfort of their cottage home, their living room had become a sparkly ballroom as Obi-Wan had lifted them up onto a spinning chair and danced around the room with a soft hum.)

But as Luke offered out his hand, the song making her feel close to their mother, Leia nodded. "You may," she curtsied before taking her brother's hand. And as they swayed, Ahsoka watching with a small smile, all three of them realised that whilst some things would forever live in the past, new memories were forever being made.

And when the song came to an end, Luke moved away from his sister to turn off the radio. It never got turned on again.


	21. A Spy No Good

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because the last chapter has no relevance to the plot, I'm double posting this along with it.
> 
> The last chapter took place over a span of four days and this chapter takes place three days after the Interlude's end. Enjoy :)

Luke peaked one eye open, peering out of his low-lidded gaze for a second. He was sitting cross-legged on the mattress Ahsoka had thrown on the floor of her small quarters, Leia sitting beside him in the exact same position. Ahsoka sat in front of them in the same way, her palms facing upwards.

There was a serene look on both Leia and Ahsoka’s faces, their eyes were closed and their backs straight. They’d been attempting meditation for a little over an hour now— or at least, Leia and Ahsoka were meditating whilst Luke attempted (and failed) to follow in their footsteps.

“Luke,” Ahsoka’s voice was soft, her eyes were still closed and her serene features did not twitch. “Eyes closed.”

Doing as he was told, Luke immediately closed his eye. It had been seven days since the mercy mission and Ahsoka discovering their truth. It had also been three days since Ahsoka had realised Luke and Leia had been trained more than they'd let on and begun badgering them into completing their training even further. 

At first the twins had argued (well, Leia had argued), stating they didn’t want to be Jedi— not yet at least. Luke was more eager to follow in their Dad’s footsteps than Leia was but even he’d agreed later on that becoming a Jedi wasn’t a good idea at the moment. The Sith were breathing down their necks and the whole idea of remaining inconspicuous would be ruined if they traipsed around the Galaxy as Knights of a lost Order.

However, after a while, Ahsoka had managed to convince Luke and Leia that the training would have nothing to do with becoming a Jedi. _(“After all, I’m no longer a Jedi— so why would I teach you to become one?”)_ Ahsoka argued that the training would simply be to hone their abilities and make managing and using the Force easier. And it would keep them out of trouble.

So they’d both agreed and now Luke found himself sitting cross-legged for hours, trying and failing to clear his mind to enter a meditative state. They'd been here for hours now, all sitting on Ahsoka's upturned mattress and Luke wondered if there was some sort of trick to achieving meditation that he'd missed the memo on. 

After all, Leia seemed to be doing it so easily. So, why was he struggling so much?

_‘Psst,’_ Luke mentally poked his sister with the Force, trying to get her attention. He knew Leia could both hear and sense his call through their bond but it was like she was submerged underwater. Their bond was just as strong but Leia's side was muffled, their communication lagging a little because of it.

 _‘Psst!’_ He tried again.

Irritation flashed through their bond and like breaking through the surface, Leia found herself pulled out of her meditative state. _‘What?!’_

_‘I’m bored.’_

_‘Luke, shut up! I was meditating!’_

_‘Well, now you’re not so can we go do something fun?’_

_‘Right now? Ahsoka’s teaching us!’_

Luke peaked one eye open to where Ahsoka sat with a calm expression, her eyes still closed. _‘Actually I think she’s sleeping.’_

“Alright Luke,” Ahsoka’s voice cut in to their private conversation. Luke opened his eyes to see the elder woman staring back at him, an unimpressed look on her face. “What’s going on?”

Leia opened her eyes as well, crossing her arms as she frowned at Luke. Every time they’d meditated together over the past three days, it had always ended the same way: Luke poking her through the Force and managing to break everyone’s meditate trance.

For three days Luke had failed to sit still for longer than five minutes.

Luke wiggled around on the mattress, shrugging his shoulders in the same manner as a young child. “I don’t know.”

“How come you keep refusing to meditate?” Ahsoka raised her eyebrows at the boy.

“It’s not that I’m refusing! I just can’t do it!”

“You know, Anakin used to say that there’s no such thing as can’t,” Ahsoka shot back. “I agree with him. You just need to close your eyes and let the Force surround you. Clear your mind and meditation should come easily.”

Luke nodded, knowing there was no harm in trying once again. He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath and felt the Force surround him just like Ahsoka had said.

 _There is no such thing as can’t_ — Luke had heard his father say that before. Vader had uttered the words in his deep monotone once when Luke had been struggling to complete his homework. And he’d said it again when Luke had been learning to fly. And again when he’d been struggling with a Gymnastics move.

The remembrance of his father forced a flood of thoughts to bombard his mind.

Where was his father? Did his father hate him? Had Luke been disowned? Would he actually ever see his father again? What if Vader was killed in battle before he and Luke could be reunited? What if the next time they saw each other Vader acted as if Luke wasn’t his son? Or that he had no idea who Luke even was? What if the Emperor asked his father to kill Luke? What if—

Luke blew out a puff of air, his mind feeling too crowded with thoughts in order for him to clear them. His eyes snapped open and he met Ahsoka’s gaze with a little frustration. It was like he was reaching for smoke, never being able to actually wrap his hands around the grey clouds. “I can’t do it!”

“Luke, there’s no such thing—“

“As can’t,” Luke rolled his eyes. “But I've been trying to meditate for three days now and every single time I've failed."

"It isn't failure," Ahsoka's voice was soft and she patted Luke's knee gently, sensing the self-depreciative undertones in his voice. He wondered if she could sense the little amounts of jealousy he was projecting to his twin-- seriously, why did Leia find meditation so easy when he felt like he was being set up for a fail? Every time he'd complained, Leia had said that her Princess upbringing meant she was used to sitting still for hours on end and clearing her thoughts so she didn't get distracted but she slipped into meditation so easily that it made Luke feel as if he were subpar. 

He squeezed his hands into fists, feeling an old competitive streak rise up when Ahsoka told him to try again. Leia had gone back to meditation, her eyes closed and there was a serene look upon her face, indicating that in the two seconds Luke had been whining, she'd already slipped into the meditative trance he couldn't reach. _Show off_ , Luke wanted to roll his eyes.

 _Come on,_ Luke told himself. _Clear you mind, you can do this!_ It took a second, with Luke focusing on his breathing as he tried to clear his mind. He banished thoughts and when things popped into his head, he tried his very best to ignore it. _Breathe_ , he told himself. _In, out. In, out. In, out._ But then, when silence was just about reached, he felt his bond with Leia grow a little stronger as his meditative trance loomed closer. 

Why wasn't he as good as his sister? Was he not cut out to be a Jedi? Would his father be ashamed that his son couldn't meditate like all Force-users should be able to do?-- His father . . . did he hate him? Did he even consider Luke his son anymore? 

His mind was overwhelmed with sudden questions yet again and Luke released a puff of air, his frustrations rising as he snapped his eyes open. "What's the point?"

He'd failed-- yet again. At this point, Luke was wondering why he felt so surprised. 

Maybe if he went outside and got some fresh air he could attempt clearing his mind once again? A short walk would probably do some good. It seemed unnatural to sit still for so long and Luke wondered how Leia had survived all her social expectations. Despite being an Imperial Prince, his father had never expected him to sit still for as long as Luke had in these past few hours.

Not for the first time, Ahsoka spoke in an omniscient voice. "Meditation is a key part of Force control. You need it to centre yourself, to guide you and to help control your emotions."

"Can't I just skip this step?"

"How do you expect to have control over the Force if you don't have control over yourself?"

Luke thought of his time on Coruscant in the last few weeks before Leia had broken him free. Whenever the anger of the Dark Side had risen up, he'd never known how to control it. It had been unruly and wild and more often than not, he'd lashed out before he'd been able to try and rein the emotions he'd been feeling in.

He could understand the use of meditation and why it was important-- he really did-- but that didn't mean he found the process any easier.

"I don't think mediation is for me," Luke decided. He shrugged his shoulders in a 'what you gonna do' action, which only made Ahsoka frown. His skills lied with piloting and action-- give him a speeder engine and he could make it ten times faster before an hour had even passed. Sitting down and clearing his mind just didn't seem to come as naturally.

"You need to be able to master meditation before you can move on to other elements of using the Force."

Luke knew Ahsoka was talking about lightsaber wielding and Force tricks. Those were the things Luke had signed himself up for-- not this. 

"But I've been using the Force my whole life and I've never mastered meditation, why do I need to start now?" He didn't want to sound whiney; Leia always said that whining was like a default setting to him but Luke never went out of his way to whine.

"Luke," Ahsoka spoke in the same tone his father had used to try and assert dominance. It was the 'I'm the adult so listen to me' tone. He wondered if she'd picked it up from his father. "You need to perfect meditation before progressing forward."

Even though his time as the Emperor's pre-next apprentice had been nothing short of awful, Luke found himself glad that Palpatine had never forced him to meditate. He doubted the Sith would be as patient as Ahsoka was clearly trying to be. But then again, controlling your emotions wasn't really what the Dark Side believed in.

"You know, when you took it upon yourself to complete our training, I thought you'd be teaching us how to build and fight with a lightsaber." Luke sighed, sounding glum. He desperately wanted to stretch his legs or maybe even stick his head inside a star-fighters engine. "Not this."

A small smile flitted across Ahsoka's face as if she understood his sentiment. "Your father wasn't a fan of meditation either, Luke. I know Master Kenobi got enough grey hairs trying to force Anakin to perfect it as a Padawan but eventually, he understood the importance of it. He then taught me that importance and I'm trying to relay his teachings to you. With practice, you'll get the hang of it. I promise."

Luke sighed, once again wondering why he was struggling so much when Leia seemed to have perfected it the first time she'd tried it. 

"Try again," Ahsoka prodded and Luke knew he had no choice but to comply. _Come on_ , he whispered to himself. _Clear your mind and breathe. In, out. In, out. In, out._

It was like falling asleep; he cleared his mind, focused on his breathing and he could feel his mind slip. It was gentle and the Force flowed all around him, every cell in his body feeling covered by the invisible power and he knew he was finally getting the hang of it. He was reaching that meditative trance--

A loud cackling sound flooded his mind, a memory reappearing like a virus and it trapped Luke in it's hold until his blood felt like ice and his mind reeled. The Emperor was laughing, his black hood pulled up and his white, withered hands reaching out towards him. _“Think of someone you love— someone you love the most— and imagine a lightsaber going straight through their heart.”_

Luke's response was instantaneous. His eyes snapped open, his body felt as if he'd been electrocuted and he jumped up from the mattress, wobbling slightly on the legs he'd not used for hours. His sudden movement had the mattress dipping and both Leia and Ahsoka tumbled over, his sister's eyes opening once again with a glare that she set upon him. 

"Luke!"

"Meditation and I don't mix," Luke waved his hands around, the adrenaline rushing through his system making him pace around the short length of the room. He could still hear the echo of the Emperor's laugh and it made his stomach churn and his mind buzz. No way could he even try and meditate after that.

Now broken from her meditative trance, Leia crossed her arms over her chest as she stood up as well. "Perhaps if you were able to sit still for longer than five minutes, it wouldn't be so hard!"

 _We can't all be as perfect as_ _you_ , Luke wanted to snark back but he let it go with a frustrated sigh. He ran a hand through his hair. "Whatever, at least I didn't fall asleep yesterday during mediation because yeah, I sensed you doing that!"

"I did not fall asleep!"

"Then why did I see some drool on your chin?"

Leia made an angry noise, her irritation flaring with little provoking. It was like a fire being lit in the pit of her chest, burning bright, and Leia felt her hands curl into fists as she glared at her brother. She always wondered if it was Luke's personality or the fact they were siblings that made her anger go from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye. "You're such a nerf!"

No insult seemed to do justice and Leia felt a strong desire to lash out with her words.

"And you're such a Hutt!" Luke shot back with equal anger, knowing his words would only add fuel to the fire growing in his sister's chest.

Ahsoka stood between the two of them, her hands up to try and put some space between them. She'd seen them argue before but this was far more heated and she knew with Anakin's temper in Leia and Luke's knowledge of how to push his sister's buttons, it would escalate quickly. "That's enough. Both of you, sit back down and let's try this again. Release the anger you feel into the Force."

Luke made a strangled sound, his frustration increasing at the thought of sitting back down on that mattress. Honestly, he would rather clean every refresher on the base.

"I don't _want_ to try again! I don't like meditation!"

Even Ahsoka lost a little of her patience. "It doesn't matter if you like it or not, Luke! You need to practice!"

"But I'm no good at it!"

"You've only been trying for three days!"

"So? Perfect Princess Organa has mastered it already!"

Ahsoka's frustrations ebbed away slightly and a softer look came across her face. "Don't compare yourself to your sister, Luke. Everyone's journeys are different. So come on, sit back down and we'll try this again."

Luke was about to take a step towards the mattress when an echo of the Emperor's cackle filled his mind. _"Think of someone you love_ —"

No. No way.

"I can't—"

"There's no such thing as—"

"Just let him be, Ahsoka," Leia's voice cut in and there was a mean look on her face. She spoke cooly but Luke could tell by her cold demeanour that what she was about to say would have impact. "Meditation probably requires more braincells than Luke actually owns. It's no wonder that I was adopted by Royalty whilst Luke was _dumped_ on a backwater planet."

Ahsoka's mouth dropped open, "Leia—"

Luke, however, threw his hands up in the air as he slowly shook his head. He knew his sister well enough to know she hadn't meant what she'd said. She'd heard his undertones of jealousy and inadequacy and she'd used that to her advantage, stringing together an insult that she knew would be a low blow but would hit the mark. And hit the mark, it had.

"Nice, Leia."

For a second, silence surrounded them and Leia kept her chin raised, not wanting to show any signs of the raging guilt that was building up inside her. Why had she said that? Could she take it back?

Luke turned towards the door, desperately needing some fresh air when Leia spoke up again. All hopes of an apology were thrown out the window when his sister demanded: "Where you running off to now? Vero? Stay away from him, Luke. I don't trust him."

"Why should I care what you think about people?" Luke frowned, wondering how his twin had the nerve to boss him around after her low blow of an insult. He was never quick to anger but Leia had an infuriating ability to make him want to punch a wall with every word out of her mouth. "Especially after what I know you think of me."

With that, he turned and left the room. Leia scrunched her hands up into fists, feeling her anger inflate for a second before the guilt took over and her fight was lost. For a second, she considered going after Luke and apologising but her pride made that idea wane.

"Leia," Ahsoka sighed in a heavy tone, sounding much like Obi-Wan when he'd known she'd been in the wrong.

"I need some air," Leia didn't care if she'd been rude— what was new? She didn't spare Ahsoka a glance as she left the room, feeling suddenly exhausted.

* * *

Luke found his frustrations increasing as he vented to Artoo and Threepio, wandering around the base aimlessly. He’d stopped off at his quarters to pick up the droids for the sole intention of making them into his therapy droids. After years of having no one to verbalise his frustrations with when he argued with his father, it was nice to have someone to complain to now.

“She’s so bossy!” Luke ranted, feeling his anger spike as he recalled his argument with Leia. It was just one of a million arguments they’d had in their lifetime but given their separation, it was the first they’d had in a long time. “And mean! She was implying that she was better than me!”

Artoo beeped sadly, rolling beside Luke slowly as they wandered around. Threepio stood beside Artoo, his mechanical legs struggling to keep up despite the slow pace. “I agree with Artoo, Master Luke. I don’t believe Mistress Leia truly meant what she said.”

“But she still said it!”

Artoo made a whistling sound. “Artoo says that Mistress Leia is very much like your father, Master Luke,” Threepio translated. “Sometimes she says things in the heat of anger to which she doesn’t mean. It’s more for the impact than the cause. Artoo says that Master Anakin acted much the same to Master Kenobi at times.”

Luke thought about his father, recognising the similarities between the elder man and Luke’s teenage sister: it was true that they did seem to have a lot in common. Leia would hate to hear it but she definitely inherited Anakin’s temper the most.

But where Luke’s father had succumbed to that temper, Luke had faith that Leia would always rise above it.

He was about to continue his walking and ranting when a sudden loud, blaring alarm sounded in the base. The corridor lit up red and the alarm was ear-splitting, demanding to be heard. People started appearing out of rooms, all of them wearing identical looks of terror and suddenly the alarm was drowned out by the sounds of screaming and yelling.

“Attack! Attack!” A Mon Calamari man yelled, running down the corridor. “Attack! Evacuate now! Evacuate!”

The walls shook violently like something had shaken the base and dust fell down from the ceiling. With the lights a bold red and the sound of the alarm screeching in Luke’s ears, the place suddenly looked like the set of a Horror Holo that Luke hated.

People rushed past him, uncaring about being gentle or if Luke was thrown to the floor. Artoo screeched as people smashed into him, toppling over slightly as they ran. And Threepio’s loud complaints were drowned out as he got pushed against the base’s walls with little care.

Luke wasn’t sure how he ended up on the floor but one-second he was standing and the next his vision blurred as his head hit the ground with a little too much force. A pair of hands helped pull Luke up but it took a second to place the face to a name.

“Tr—Tripp?” Luke spoke like he’d awoken from a deep sleep, his mind bleary. The alarm pounded around in his mind and in the red light of the corridor, Tripp’s dark purple skin looked sunken and frightening.

“Luke!” Tripp’s voice was barely heard over the alarm. “Come on! We need to go!”

“Go? Go where? Why? What’s going on?” His mind felt fuzzy and something warm ran down his face. Blood. He was bleeding. Why was he bleeding?

There was a tugging on his mind that Luke ignored.

“The base has been attacked!” Tripp practically dragged Luke down the corridor. His hands were firm and strong as Luke stumbled, keeping the boy upright. “We need to get off base now! Imps are in the system and they’ll arrest everyone they find!”

Tripp’s words made sense in Luke’s mind but it took a second to realise the severity of what he’d said. The base had been attacked. Imps in the system. Arrests. Danger.

Like a flash of lightning, Luke froze as a thought grabbed him. “Leia! Where’s Leia?” Tripp continued to drag him, using more force than necessary and Luke could feel a bruise forming. He looked over his shoulder but Luke couldn’t see his droids anywhere. “Artoo? Threepio? Tripp we need to go back and find my friends! We need to get Leia!"

As realisation and reality dawned on Luke, the fog in his mind clearing, he realised that Tripp was moving in a direction _away_ from the hangar. They were heading to the exit that led to the back of the base and Luke had no idea as to why.

Surely if they wanted to escape, going to the hangar was the best bet?

“Tripp where are we going?” Luke tried to struggle against the elder man’s grip but in retaliation, Tripp’s fingers curled even tighter to the point where Luke felt pain shoot up his arm. His friend had never been so rough before and Luke wondered if it was the panic of the situation that caused him to react this way. "Tripp, let go— ow, that hurts! Where are we going?"

The Keshiri didn't reply but from the sunken look upon his face, Luke felt his worry increase. 

"Tripp? Tripp, stop! We need to go back and get Leia! Artoo and Threepio could be injured!"

A strong hand wrapped itself around Luke's mouth and Tripp's eyes looked suddenly cold and blank in the red lighting. A far cry from the friendliness Luke had seen in the past week. "Shut up or I'll make you shut up, kid." Luke mumbled against his hand, his eyes widening. He tried to fight Tripp's hold on him but with the head injury and the way his mind was buzzing, he didn't feel strong enough to break free. 

Mind buzzing. Leia. 

It was like a jigsaw being put together that Luke realised the buzzing in his mind, that was growing more intense as each second passed, was actually his sister trying to reach out to him. The second he tapped into their bond, Leia's voice flowed into his mind and he could feel all she was feeling: worry, panic, guilt, terror. . .

_'Luke? Luke!'_

_'Leia! Help!'_

_'Luke, what's going on?'_ His sister spoke in a rushed tone and as Luke was dragged further and further to the back of the base, the blaring alarm started to wane and his brain felt less foggy. _'The base is being attacked! Where are you?'_

_'No poodoo Jabba!'_

_'Luke! Where are you?'_

"Tripp— Tripp, stop! Ah!" Luke hissed when the grip on his arm became vice-like, the elder male's hand feeling ready to snap Luke's wrist. "What are you doing? We need to go back!" His words were muffled by the hand on his mouth but Tripp heard him nonetheless.

"We can either do this the easy way or the hard way. I personally don't mind either but your father would prefer this happen as smoothly as possible so shut up and keep moving, kid."

His father. Realisation dawned on Luke and he felt his stomach churn. No wonder Leia had hated Tripp so much, she'd sensed his deceit before she'd even known his name. Now wasn't the time for an _I told you so_ but Luke was willing to risk it if it meant getting out of this situation.

_'Leia! Leia, I'm with Tripp near the back of the base. He's bad, Leia! He's working for our father!'_

_'I told you so!'_

And there it was.

_'Save the know-it-all poodoo and help me!'_

Leia didn't seem to understand the predicament Luke was in for she replied: _'Lose the loser and come to the hangar, Luke!_ _The Imps are preparing to come planet-side and Threepio thinks we have mere minutes before an invasion is_ _launched! You know the bucket-heads will shoot first and ask questions later!'_

_'Threepio? Is he and Artoo okay? We got squished in the corridor!'_

_'They're fine, I'm in the hangar with Ahsoka, Rex and the droids now. So hurry Luke!'_

_'I can't! Tripp is dragging me! We're heading to the south-west exit_ — _I think he has a ship waiting.'_

With Leia's side of the bond suddenly going silent, Luke turned back to Tripp. Now in an abandoned part of the base, Tripp released his hand but the cold look on his face didn't disappear. Luke felt his heart sink as he realised how much he'd been manipulated. All those kind words, the time spent fixing star-fighter engines and becoming friends, it had all been fake. A ruse. All on his father's behalf.

"You're a spy, aren't you? For ISB— for my father."

Tripp sneered. “You deserve a medal, kid.”

"Just let me go Tripp; I can't go back to my father!" Luke continued to struggle even though he knew it was futile.

"Your father is paying me handsomely for this. Do you think I'll just let you go because you batted your eyelashes and begged? Do you know how hard it is to infiltrate the Rebellion and orchestrate an attack? I'm getting my payday, kid. And if you keep struggling, I'll shoot you."

“You wouldn’t kill me!” Luke spat, gaining confidence to know it was his father behind all this.

“You want to test that, kid?”

_‘Leia! Leia! Tripp’s a spy! Hurry!'_

‘ _He’s a spy?’_ Leia spat, sounding angry. _‘I told you there was something off with him!’_

_‘Can you save your lecture for later? I’m kinda being kidnapped here!’_

_‘I’m on my way!’_

Luke struggled against Tripp’s hold once again, trying his best to ignore the blaster that was now pressed to his temple. “If you kill me then my father will kill you.” He suddenly wished he had Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber on him; the twins had given it to Artoo for safe-keeping and with the droid missing, Luke’s chances of escape were slim.

“What if your father doesn’t care if you’re brought in dead or alive?”

Despite Luke’s fears of his father disowning him, he very much doubted that was true. “Shoot me then.”

Tripp sneered but made no movement to do so. “Just shut up and come with— ahhh!” The sound of a shot fired out, the blaster bolt connecting with Tripp’s shoulder. The hand grabbing Luke’s arm dropped as it moved to cup his wound instead.

“Luke!” Leia’s voice rung down the corridor and Luke stumbled backwards from the spy, almost falling over. His sister had her blaster raised and an angry look on her face.

“Traitor!” The spy spat in Leia’s direction, lifting up his wounded arm with much force and shooting several times at the Princess. Leia dodged, sending off a few shots of her own which missed their mark.

“I knew there was something fishy about you!” Leia yelled as she continued to fire, ducking and dodging the spy’s own fire. Luke found himself creeping the wall, silently trying to reach his sister before the spy noticed.

But then his footing stumbled and Tripp’s eyes turned to him. Ducking Leia’s fire, Tripp turned his blaster to Luke but before he could fire, Luke raised his hand and summoned the Force to pull up a wave of energy which hit Tripp right in the chest.

Like being pushed backwards by strong winds, the spy fell several feet and landed heavily on the floor.

‘ _Run!’_ Leia’s eyes met Luke’s and they both sprinted down the corridor. A tugging feeling entered their minds.

_Danger! Danger!_

The spy was back up and shooting wildly, except this time his blaster was on stun. His desperation was kicking in and the twins had to jump and duck to avoid the blasts they could feel coming their way through the Force.

One of the stun blasts hit the blast door controls up ahead, the panel catching fire as the circuits exploded. Leia guessed that they had seconds before the blast doors closed and if they were on the other side of it then they’d be safe.

_Danger!_

Leia felt the stun blast through the Force as it shot through the air, preparing to hit Luke straight on his back. Her brother was too focused with running to dodge in time and everything felt like it was in slow-motion as Leia dived for Luke. The blast doors prepared to close, creating a block in the corridor, as Leia pushed Luke forwards so he was on the other side.

The stun blast hit her on the back and as the blast doors closed, Luke on the side of safety, Leia felt her consciousness slip away.


	22. The Death Star

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does the title give away the level of angst?

If looks could kill, Leia knew the spy, formally known as Tripp Vero, would be face down on the controls of his shuttle by now.

She’d woken up not too long ago, a bruise forming on her cheek from when she’d fallen to the floor and a headache stirring under her temples from the stun blast. She was strapped down in the co-pilot seat of Tripp’s Imperial shuttle, her hands bound and the seat restraints wrapped around her body so Leia couldn’t even move an inch.

She’d been unconscious for the majority of the flight and yet Leia found it almost humorous how many precautions Tripp had taken in keeping her tied up.

“So,” Leia drawled her words, doing her best to keep the venom out of her voice. It wouldn’t be good to aggravate the spy; he was under no obligation to bring Leia back alive like he had been with Luke. If anything, he’d probably earn more by bringing her back with a blaster shot in her head.

“I’m guessing Tripp isn’t your real name?”

The spy scoffed, sparing Leia a glance but not replying.

“Are you going to tell me your name?” Leia goaded, unable to help herself. “Because in my head I’m just calling you Jabba the Hutt on Death Sticks. Or maybe that’s an insult to Jabba.”

Tripp’s reply— or well, he wasn’t really Tripp; it seemed Tripp had never existed— was short and cold. “You don’t need to know my name.”

 _Sleemo,_ Leia rolled her eyes as she turned her head back to the blankness of space staring before her. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been unconscious for or how deep in space they were. All she knew was that she’d pushed Luke out of the way of the stun blast, been knocked out and then awoke, tied down, to the co-pilot seat with the spy glaring daggers at her.

“Where are we going?”

She’d not expected an answer and receive one, she had not. There were no looming planets or moons in sight and Leia wondered if they actually had a destination prepared. What if Tripp just pushed her out of the air-lock? After all, she was an Imperial traitor and she hadn’t even been his original target.

 _Don’t think of that,_ Leia shook her head. She was captured on an Imperial shuttle with an Imperial spy and no where to go— she would drive herself crazy if she contemplated every single terrible thing Tripp could do to her. No doubt this whole situation would not result well for her and at the current time, her fate looked a little gloomy but Leia refused to think about that.

Instead, she thought of Luke. He was safe, that much Leia knew. She could feel his side of their bond burning bright— she couldn’t communicate to him because of the distance but he was alive and knowing that was enough.

But as for Ahsoka, Rex, Artoo and Threepio, Leia didn’t know. She hoped they’d made it off Dantooine safely, possibly having reunited with Luke for their escape. She prayed to the Force that there hadn’t been any Rebels captured or killed during the escape— she hoped Senator Mothma had escaped and that General Willard was well. Had Wedge left safely? And the rest of Red Squadron?

Leia sighed, wondering what would bring her to insanity faster: pondering her own future demise or speculating on the possible demises of her friends?

“Where are we going?” Leia demanded once more. She used to be a Princess, dammit, she could sound formidable if she wanted— even when tied up to a chair with nowhere to escape.

The darkness of space stared back at her, the blankness looking cold even as the spy had the heat turned up to the full inside the shuttle. A sense of dread filled her bones and Leia had a sudden premonition of being taken somewhere terrible.

“Where are you taking me?” Her voice was higher this time, her desperation ebbing in as she struggled against her seat restraints. It did little good but to hurt her skin, her wrists crying with pain as the binds turned her skin red and sore. But the Force was pounding in Leia’s mind, sending her warning after warning and Leia refused to just sit back and be taken to her doom.

_Run! Run! Danger!_

“You’ll see soon enough,” the spy spoke devoid with any emotion but Leia saw a hint of a smirk on his lips. The sense of dread only increased.

And then Leia saw it.

It was a moon-sized space station, grey in colour and round with a circular dip on the top-half. It took Leia’s breath away with absolute terror when she realised that this was a _weapon_. And they were flying right towards it, their shuttle looking smaller than a grape the closer they got to it. Every cell in Leia’s body screamed and the Force made her headache worse, warning her of her impending danger.

_Danger! Danger! Run!_

But there was no where to go and even as Leia struggled, she knew it was futile. She was stuck, trapped down and heading towards a moon-sized weapon that she was sure would be the place she died.

“Stop struggling,” Tripp hissed when the shuttle got captured in a tractor beam and he was able to let go of the controls. His hand wrapped around his blaster and he brought it to Leia’s temple with pure malice in his eyes. “Otherwise my shuttle is about to get a little redecorating.”

Leia hated to give in and give up her fight but with the cold barrel of the blaster to her head and the space station pulling her in, even she knew her stubbornness had to end at some point. She was doomed and there was no way out of this.

The shuttle landed in a pitch-black hangar, the illuminating white lights only adding to her increasing nausea and Leia watched as thousands of Stormtroopers ran around outside the shuttle’s window. A nagging feeling overcame in her mind, something cold and filled with darkness probing the ship. Leia pulled her mental shields up, like wrapping a blanket around herself to hide her Force potential.

Even before the spy pressed the button to lower the shuttle’s ramp to the hangar, she knew who would be waiting for them outside.

“Move!” The formally known Tripp released her seat restraints, dragging Leia to her feet and with each step she took, she felt like she were being walked straight to a guillotine.

Darth Vader stood a few metres away from where the ship had landed, his imposing figure facing them and even with his mask on, Leia could tell he was furious. His gloved hands were clenched at his sides, his massive figure seeming to emanate anger and hatred. His darkness was like a virus that made Leia cold.

She knew she should be scared— terrified, even. This monster had slaughtered children, he’d immersed himself with darkness and he was a killing machine with little to no remorse inside him. And Leia was not the prize he’d been expecting to walk off the shuttle’s ramp.

But instead of that fear, came anger. A little bit of fear was there, of course, but the anger was stronger. This was the man who’d fathered her, who’d choked her mother and broken the heart of the man who’d raised her. He was the monster who’d given everything up for power he now possessed— everything, including her.

Despite, constantly rebuking the idea of claiming this man as her biological father— Anakin Skywalker had died and this monster had no claim to her— Leia had pictured this meeting a million times. Being raised as Princess in the last six years, she'd known meeting Vader would happen eventually.

Every time she'd imagined it, things panned out differently. Sometimes Leia would yell, sometimes she'd cry, or she'd hit him or spit. She'd react in a million different ways, her reactions all being born from the same feeling of abandonment and anger that burned deeper now the man in question was before her.

(Of course, she'd never pictured this and as Leia stopped before his tall figure, despite her anger, she felt unable to react in any way.)

As they approached Vader on the hangar floor, the spy’s hand holding the blaster shaking a little, Leia didn’t need to use the Force to know the Sith was seething.

“Did you not understand my instructions, Agent? You were meant to bring me my son, not the Rebel Princess.”

Vader's voice was deep and threatening, made more scary by the heaviness of his life-support suit. Leia found herself thinking back to the soft tone of the man who'd lovingly rubbed her mother's stomach ( _I'm not implying anything_ _— I’m_ telling _you that we’re having a girl)._ It seemed in his hunt for power, their family hadn't been the only thing he'd given up.

Even with the voice modifier, Vader sounded displeased.

The spy swallowed heavily, nodding in a jerky manner. “There was a complication, My Lord. The Princess got in the way and your son escaped my grasp. I bring her to you as an apology.”

Vader's breathing filled the silence, the eerie tones of his suit sending chills down Leia's spine. The spy's hand was practically wobbling now and Leia hoped he didn't accidentally shoot her in his panic. 

"An apology," Vader finally spoke, his voice sounding dry and without remorse. Leia had a feeling he was glaring under the mask, his eyes no doubt a sickening yellow. "You believe that trading me a lowlife Rebel will make up for your blunder of not bringing me my son, Agent?"

He hadn't said it but Leia knew Tripp was as good as dead.

And Tripp knew it too.

"Uh— of course not! My Lord! No!"

As Tripp stumbled over his words, Leia found herself offended at Vader's own. _Lowlife?_ A month ago she'd been a Princess on a Core World! 

“This failure will be your last,” Vader’s words were menacing and the spy opened his mouth to argue but nothing but a choking sound escaped. Leia watched in horror as the man’s purple skin darkened to a violent blue. His eyes bulged and the blaster fell to the floor as his hands moved to his neck, struggling against an invisible grip.

“M-my L-Lor—“ the spy whispered in vain, his lips opening to form words that he could no longer say. Leia felt helpless as she watched, knowing there was nothing she could do. A wrong move and she’d be in the exact same position. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the mental picture of the man her brother had considered his friend before his betrayal.

The spy fell to the floor with a loud thud and Leia flinched, feeling a heavy burden in her chest that felt like an ebbing of guilt.

When she reopened her eyes, Vader was looking down at her with what Leia could see was dislike. He was furious that she stood before him and not Luke— but there was also a little bit of satisfaction there. The girl who he’d believed manipulated his son into joining the Rebellion was now in his grasp and Leia had the sick feeling that he was going to enjoy punishing her very much.

“Lord Vader,” Leia held her head up high, wanting him to know she wasn't afraid of him. She knew she should be but her anger still burned too bright. He was far taller than she’d expected and it almost hurt her neck to stare up at him.

To think this man had once been the one to lay his hands upon the stomach where Leia had grown, arguing with Leia's mother over the baby's gender . . .

“Organa,” Vader replied back coldly.

“What no pleasantries?” Leia mocked, unable to help herself. She was walking into her death, that much she knew but the words escaped her before she could control herself. “Are you stripping me of my title, My Lord?”

Vader raised a gloved hand, pointing at Leia with anger. She could remember doing the exact same action to Luke just hours earlier during their fight and the thought made her feel sick. She didn’t want to see any similarities between herself and this monster right now.

“You are a Rebel Agent and a kidnapper! You lost your title when you were exposed as a traitor!”

“Your son left with me willingly!” Leia stressed, wondering if they would be going round in circles from now on. “I am no kidnapper!”

“You put lies into my son's head!”

“You mean I told him the uncensored truth.”

The Dark Side swirled around Vader and without even taping into her Force potential, Leia could see it like a dark cloud. For the shortest of seconds, Leia thought she was about to meet the same fate as the spy but then Vader snapped his fingers and two Stormtroopers came rushing over.

“Take the traitor to her cell. Grand Moff Tarkin wishes for a _word_ once we reach our destination.”

As Leia was dragged away like scum to her awaiting cell, she realised that that had been the first conversation she’d ever had with the man her father had become.

* * *

Luke sat on the floor of Ahsoka’s ship, his knees pulled up to his chest and his chin resting on his knees. It had been several hours since the attack on the Rebel base but to Luke it felt like minutes ago. There was a hollowness in his chest and there were tear tracks running down his cheeks.

“Luke,” Ahsoka’s voice was comforting and calm but it wasn’t enough to ease the guilt in his chest nor fill the hole. “It wasn’t your fault.”

She wrapped a blanket around Luke’s shoulders, sitting down beside him on the hard floor. The past few hours had been hectic and Luke only felt like now was he able to process everything that had happened.

Leia was gone. The blast doors had closed and his twin had pushed him through them, taking the stun blast aimed at him for himself. She’d been left on the side of the doors with the spy and no matter how many times Ahsoka disagreed: Luke knew it would always be his fault.

“You can’t blame yourself,” Ahsoka carried on. She sent him a wave of comfort through the Force but Luke pushed it away.

“It should’ve been me,” his words were mumbled but Ahsoka heard them anyway.

“Don’t say that.”

“It should’ve been though! The stun blast had been for me!” Luke closed his eyes, thinking back to how horrified he’d been when the blast doors had closed and Leia had not been on the same side as him. He’d punched the doors repeatedly and slammed his fists into the heavy metal in vain to get them to open until Rex had arrived, being forced to drag Luke kicking and screaming to the hangar so they could escape.

Thinking about Rex only furthered Luke’s guilt. The man had been shot in the shoulder by invading Stormtroopers as he’d dragged Luke to safety.

“Leia knew what she was doing,” Ahsoka wrapped her arm around Luke’s shoulder, providing what little comfort she could. She’d never really seen Anakin cry during the war but the odd times she’d walked in and seen him brushing away tears reminded her a lot of Luke right now. There was a stillness to Luke, like he’d already resigned himself to the worst.

And he’d inherited Anakin’s ability to blame everything on himself.

“She wouldn’t want you to punish yourself like this,” she tightened her hold on the young boy. At times like now, Ahsoka realised just how young she’d been during the war. Luke was a year younger than when she’d been expelled by the Council— she’d been younger than him by years fighting in a war. It made her realise how much of a childhood had been robbed from her.

So to see Luke so emotionally distraught, much like she’d been at times during the Clone Wars, it made Ahsoka want to wrap her arms around him and never let go. She wondered if that was how Anakin had felt towards her.

“She’s dead,” Luke’s voice broke as he said the words. There was such a bleakness to his tone like he truly believed it that Ahsoka was taken aback. Surely she would’ve sensed something too?

Ahsoka’s voice hitched for a second but she composed herself for Luke’s sake. Just like Anakin had been her rock, Ahsoka would be Luke’s. “Did you sense something?”

It took a second for Luke to reply but when he did, he shook his head in a sharp movement. “Not yet. But it’s only a matter of time. She’s wanted by the Empire as a known traitor: they’ll kill her.”

Ahsoka had to admit that the situation left much to be desired. But if there was one thing she’d learnt from Skywalker’s over the years: it was to never underestimate them. “We’ll find her. We’ll save her.”

“How? She’s gone! Tripp— that sleemo: he took her!”

“Luke,” there was a seriousness to Ahsoka’s voice now that caused the boy to look up at her. “There’s a way to try and find out where Leia’s gone but I fear you won’t like it.”

Luke knew, no matter what, he’d be willing to try it.

* * *

The cell Leia had been thrown into was both cold and dark. There was a metal bed attached to the back wall that left much to be desired but Leia found herself laying down on it anyway. The metal was stiff underneath her back but it gave her an opportunity to rest so Leia didn’t complain.

In the silence of her cell, Leia reflected on the recent events of her life. It had been about three weeks since Bail Organa’s death and the attack from the Inquisitor. Three weeks since her life got flipped upside down. Just under two weeks since she’d officially joined the Rebellion and only days since she’d agreed to listen to Ahsoka as she taught them how to use the Force.

So much had happened in such a short space of time and yet through most of it, Leia hadn’t been afraid to take the leap. All because Luke had been there beside her. Her brother had always had her back and as she reflected on their recent argument, the guilt became overwhelming.

Would she ever be given the chance to apologise?

The door to her cell suddenly opened and Leia blinked several times as the light momentarily blinded her. Two Stormtroopers marched in, their blasters raised and a pair of binders in one of their hands.

“Up Rebel scum!” One of them yelled, giving Leia no time to comply before pulling her to her feet and snapping the binders in place. She was marched through the detention centre corridors and when they tried to half-drag her to increase her pace, Leia ripped herself away from their violent holds, keeping her head up high as they moved to their destination.

Leia frowned as they reached a massive, open room that had an ominous look to it. The lighting was dim, the walls and floor all pitch black and right in front of her was a massive view-port. An elder man stood in the centre of the room, his back straight and his hands clasped behind him as he kept his back to her.

But Leia knew who that man was before he even turned around, his eyes ripping away from the planet showcased through the view-port. _Alderaan_ , Leia realised. She recognised the planet immediately, a cold feeling spreading through her heart that only doubled when she spotted Darth Vader step out of the shadows beside her.

Vader placed himself behind Leia, his six foot figure looming down over her but she refused to show any fear. Keeping her head raised and her expression neutral, Leia watched as the vile man whose gaunt expression was forever glued to her ‘Most Hated Men In The Empire’ list, turned around.

“Tarkin,” Leia spat the man’s name, narrowing her eyes when he regarded her. “I thought I recognised your foul stench when I was broad onboard.”

Tarkin looked a little amused as he scoffed lightly. “Charming to the last. I want you to know that I signed your order of termination just a few minutes ago.”

Leia had been expecting this outcome when she’d woken up on the spy’s ship as a prisoner of the Empire so it came as no surprise to hear Tarkin confirm it. But even though Leia had known it would be this way, she still found herself angered by Tarkin’s cool tone. There was something about his gaunt cheeks and cruel eyes that she just found so inhuman. His face didn’t twitch and Leia knew there was not a shred of remorse in that man’s body.

Her voice was dry as she spoke. “I’m sure that was very hard for you.”

“Yes, well such things must be done when one reveals themselves to be a traitor.”

“The only traitor is you! I’m a loyalist to democracy,” Leia snarled. “To the Republic which you helped destroy!”

“And look at where that loyalty has left you.” Tarkin smiled slightly and it didn’t take the use of the Force for Leia to know he was enjoying this. Behind her, Vader stepped closer and Leia felt her breath hitch slightly, her skin crawling. She tried not to think about how loud his respirator was in her ear, his heavy breathing making her hairs stand on end.

“I hope that you’ve been admiring our wonderful new weapon?” Tarkin changed the conversation, waving his hand around the room. “I believe this space station will be the perfect tool in finally crushing your pitiful band of Rebels.”

“The Rebellion isn’t just about the people! It’s about the ideals! You can’t force people to bow down to your evil Empire!”

Tarkin scoffed once more. “I beg to differ.”

“The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will _slip_ through your fingers.”

“Not after we demonstrate the power this space station has to offer.” Tarkin walked closer to Leia, forcing her to take a step back. Her back hit Vader’s chest and Leia froze, feeling his panel of chest controls press into her skin. Tarkin reached out and his fingers gripped the bottom half of Leia’s face but she yanked her head away in disgust.

“In a way, you have determined the choice of planet in which to demonstrate the Death Star’s capability.” Tarkin carried on, turning to the view-port where Alderaan was visible. It was still hard to imagine that over two weeks ago Leia had been on that very planet, living her life without any idea what was about to occur.

She’d heard the whispers among the leaders of the Rebellion about a weapon the Empire had been cooking up but as yet, there had been no evidence provided of just how powerful the weapon would be. Leia didn’t really know what this space station was capable of but with the menacing way it was facing Alderaan and the size of the entire thing, she couldn’t deny the fear brewing in her chest.

“What is it that you want?”

Tarkin raised an eyebrow like he didn’t truly understand what she meant.

Leia grit her teeth together, trying to control her anger before it consumed her. With Vader’s chest pressed against her back, Leia felt suddenly claustrophobic despite the enormity of the room.

“What is it that you want in _exchange_ , Tarkin? Surely there must be a reason for why you’re doing this? I don’t know where the Rebel base’s next location is, if that is what you want.”

“Perhaps if you were more useful this whole operation would run more smoothly,” Tarkin made a tsk noise. “But alas, it wouldn’t matter anyway. In the recent weeks since your departure, Alderaan has shown its true roots. Uprisings are beginning to form and the planet is preparing to turn on the Empire since your father’s death.”

Dread pooled in Leia’s stomach and her eyes flitted to where Alderaan lay in the view-port. It was beautiful even from afar. Leia wondered if snow had settled yet on the mountains or if Breha’s favourite flowers had bloomed.

“Alderaan needs to become an example,” Tarkin’s voice was sharp. “It needs correction. And what better way to prove the Empire’s stability than to focus its fire on the rebelling planet? Which is why I have chosen to test this station’s destructive power on your home world of Alderaan. It will be the first of many to be destroyed.”

It felt like all the air had been punched out of Leia’s lungs. Her ears rung like she’d stood too close to a detonating bomb and her knees wobbled. Vader placed a hand on her shoulder, the feeling doing nothing but make Leia feel more scared. The skin under his gloved hand burned and she felt the desire to scrub and wash herself down.

_Destroyed._

The word kept bouncing around in her head like it wasn’t something she could understand. _Destroyed._

Alderaan would be _destroyed._

It sounded impossible yet with the size of the space station and the smug look on Tarkin’s face, Leia knew better than to doubt his words.

“No!” When Leia found her voice again, it sounded desperate and full of fear. Tarkin smiled down at her. “Alderaan is peaceful! We have no weapons. You can’t possibly—“

“Oh but I can,” Tarkin turned back to face her, his hands clasped behind his back with a look of victory. He knew she was helpless to save her people. To save the family he thought resided there.

Leia thought of Breha, the mother she’d never claimed. The woman had been so kind to Leia as she’d grown up in the Palace, teaching the young girl all she knew and sharing all her traditions and customs with Leia when she could. Leia had never been her blood but Breha had treated her like she could’ve been.

Leia thought of Winter, the only friend she’d had for years. Technically her handmaiden, Winter had been the only person close to Leia’s age who’d lived in the Palace. She’d been Leia’s closest confidant and when the barriers of professionalism had broken, they’d been known to share a good laugh.

She thought of all the Aunts who lived in the Palace who had warmed to Leia immediately, treating her like one of their own after she’d been adopted. They’d never felt like family in the way Luke and Obi-Wan had but they’d been there and they’d supported Leia whenever they could.

She thought of all the men, women and children who had no idea about what was going to happen. She thought of all the mother’s who were holding their children in their arms, unaware that said child’s life was about to be extinguished. She thought of all the newly-weds who were excited to start a life together or all the honeymooning couples who’d travelled to Alderaan as a romantic place to share their love.

Devastation was about to rain down on trillions. Hearts all over the Galaxy were going to break, loved ones would be lost with no closure, families were about to be torn apart. And Tarkin had a look in his eyes like he was hungry for the pain he was about to cause.

“No! Don’t!” Hysteria started to leak into Leia’s voice. “They’re innocents—“

“They’re planning a planetary revolt!” Tarkin hissed, turning to one the men in a black bucket-hat. “Continue with the operation. You may fire when ready.”

“You’re about to kill trillions of people!” Leia yelled. The men in the bucket-hats started flicking switches and Leia felt as the mass energy started pooling, the metal under feet started to hum and the station came to life. “Men, women, children— _innocents_ not involved in whatever revolt you’re using as an excuse!"

Vader’s hand clenched tighter around her shoulder and when she tried to pull away, he pushed her back so there was no where she could go. Fear, desperation and anger weighed down on Leia and she felt adrenaline course through her body as the sudden sense to fight filled her. _This could not happen! This was too evil to be reality!_

“Do not punish Alderaan! Do not—” Leia’s mind whirred, feeling breathless and disoriented as the panic truly set in. The metal underneath her continued to vibrate ever so slightly as it prepared to commit the most unimaginable crime. “Punish me! Don’t hurt them! Not Alderaan!"

Tarkin’s next words hit her like a needle deflating a balloon. There was a gleeful look in his eye and Leia knew in that moment that no amount of yelling, begging or force would get this monster to feel any sort of empathy for those he was about to kill.

Trillions of lives were about to end because one man said so and all because he truly didn’t care about them. And all Leia could do was stare out the view-port and watch as Alderaan helplessly orbited before them, completely unaware of the mass murder about to take place.

“Alderaan is about to become an example of what happens when you oppose the Empire. You should find yourself honoured to be at the ceremony of the Empire’s greatest weapon becoming operational.”

Bile filled Leia’s mouth and she wanted nothing more than to spit on Tarkin to show him just how _honoured_ she was to be there. But Vader’s fist clenched even harder and something green glowed in the corner of the view-port.

“This is murder!” Leia screamed at the same time the space station took aim.

A laster shot out and less than a second later it hit Alderaan right in the centre of the planet. The explosion it caused was massive, a ball of red and white fire blowing up as a ring circled the mass destruction. A shockwave went out, moving at the speed of light as debris and flecks of light and bits of the blast fanned out in one massive display.

And then Alderaan was nothing but dust. Blown off the face of the planet in the same manner one would squish a grape.

Leia’s knees buckled and despite hiding her Force ability, she felt a flash of pain like a trillion people had cried out and then their voices had been silenced. The echo of silence in her mind was deafening and Leia felt like she’d experienced her people’s deaths a million times over.

They were gone. Breha, Winter, her Aunts, the kind adviser whose daughter just graduated medical school, her Governess who always carried Holos of her infant grandchild around and the elderly lady who’d helped Leia find her bodyguard once when she’d gotten lost in Aldera City— they were all gone. Bail’s legacy and his culture, the planet he’d been so proud of, was gone.

Alderaan’s beauty, their customs, their art, their poetry, their wine and their beloved traditions were no more.

The space outside the view-port looked empty without Alderaan staring back at her. And all Leia could feel was numb as the reality settled in.

* * *

If Luke had found meditating difficult when he’d been in Ahsoka’s room on the Rebel base, he found attempting to mediate on the ship near impossible. No matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn’t get his mind to relax for long enough.

“Luke,” Ahsoka’s voice was soft as she sat before him in the same position as he: legs crossed, eyes closed and palms facing upwards. “You need to calm down. Worrying about Leia will only make finding her more difficult.”

Luke nodded, taking a second to control his breathing. _In, out. In, out. In, out._ _Clear your mind._ He pushed all worries and thoughts to the side, focusing instead only on Leia. It took a while but Luke slowly felt himself drift away, his mind becoming wrapped in the Force as it beckoned him to feel the full weight of meditation.

A memory of the Emperor resurfaced, the wrinkly old man’s laugh cackling in Luke’s mind. The urge to pull out of meditation was almost too tempting but Ahsoka had said this would be the only way to find a hint of Leia’s location so Luke pressed on.

The sound of the Emperor gave way to another man’s voice. One Luke vaguely recognised but couldn’t place. He couldn’t see who was talking but the voice sent a shiver down Luke’s spine.

_“Alderaan is about to become an example of what happens when you oppose the Empire. You should find yourself honoured to be at the ceremony of the Empire’s greatest weapon becoming operational.”_

When Leia spoke, Luke saw her. She was all he could see in the bleary attempt of a vision but she was all he needed to see. His sister’s eyes were wide and there was fear and desperation in them, her lips shaking slightly as she spoke.

_“No! Alderaan is peaceful! We have no weapons. You can’t possibly—“_

And then, like he were standing there beside his twin as she witnessed the horrible act, Luke saw as a planet blew up. He watched as the explosion spanned across the bleakness of space, debris flying away with force. He felt Leia’s pain like being punched in the stomach and his mind screamed for a second, hearing trillions of cries before they were all cut out before they could finish. Luke’s heart ached and it took a second to process what he’d seen.

Leia’s eyes were filled with horror and for a second, Luke thought they made eye-contact. His sister looked like she were living in a nightmare and something sparked in Luke’s chest.

When Luke opened his eyes, panting heavily like he’d run a marathon, he saw Ahsoka hunched over, clutching at her chest. She’d obviously felt Alderaan’s destruction just like he.

Luke’s eyes met Ahsoka’s and they hardened. “I know where Leia is.”


	23. A Father-Daughter Conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: There is some moderate description of choking near the end so please take care if this is a trigger to you.

Leia wasn’t sure how much time had passed since she’d been thrown back in her cell. It could’ve been hours, days or even mere minutes. In reality, it didn’t matter. No amount of time would be able to quell the burning pain that had been born from watching Alderaan turn to dust.

Every time she closed her eyes, all Leia saw was the horrifying event play over and over again in her mind. _You may fire when ready._ She’d see the green laser as it shot towards her planet. She’d see the red and white explosion and the shockwave the blast sent out. She’d see flecks of light and bits of debris spin away as Alderaan was reduced to nothing.

What had happened could not be undone.

Alderaan was gone and for the rest of her life, Leia would be forced to carry the burden of having seen such a horror pan out. History books would write about Alderaan’s destruction— some would picture it as an Imperial victory whilst others would mourn the devastating loss.

And Leia wondered if there would ever come a time when the pain eased. When the heaviness of Alderaan’s loss would reduce slightly and memories of the planet would be focused on fondness and not pain. Would Alderaan’s art be remembered? The poets immortalised?

Would they ever forget the Organa name and the hope they’d helped to create?

_You may fire when ready._

Leia wondered, above all, if she ever made it out of this cell, would she ever look back on Alderaan— the planet that had been her home for six years— and smile? Would her memory do the snowy mountains and beautiful sunsets justice? Could she continue on the traditions the Organa’s had taught her and not feel as if her heart was shattering? In the current moment, sitting alone in her dark cell, such a thing seemed impossible. Alderaan’s loss was raw, every thought about the planet feeling like salt to the wound.

If she survived whatever Tarkin had planned next for her, Leia truly wondered if it would ever be possible for her to look back on Alderaan and feel peace. It seemed so impossible considering how numb she felt right now. When Leia had stood in that view-port, it had felt like a part of her had been destroyed alongside the planet that had been her home. Her safe haven.

_You may fire when ready._

She closed her eyes for a second, banishing away the four walls of her cell. Leia half expected to wake up on Dantooine, everything having been one terrible nightmare. She’d open her eyes and Alderaan would still be thriving and the Rebellion would be as strong as ever. Or better yet, she’d open her eyes and she’d be on Naboo, the past six years having been one fever dream that she’d blink away as reality settled in—

Leia opened her eyes. There was no busy Dantooine base or glossy Nubian fields, just four dark grey walls that seemed to get smaller as each second passed. There was no escape from the nightmare she was currently living and Leia’s chest constricted, a grief so unimaginable starting to settle in. The green of the Death Star’s laser was tattooed in her mind and the silence of her cell was akin to the icy silence she’d heard after the cries of her people had been cut off.

_You may fire when ready._

The silence suddenly started to feel overwhelming, her four-walled cell managing to get small enough for Leia to feel claustrophobic. Nausea settled in her stomach and even with the pressure building behind her eyes, Leia refused to cry— not when her enemies were close enough to gloat. The thought of Tarkin— the man who’d smiled when Alderaan had been blown from existence— getting to see Leia become misty eyed, made her want to scratch her eyes out to avoid the whole thing from ever being a possibility.

She could already see how he would smile, his thin lips pulling up on his gaunt face as a sadistic sparkle shined in his eyes. He’d coo, reaching out to grasp her chin in order to feel the evidence of her pain as her tears rolled down her face. _Did I hit a nerve, Princess?_ He’d say as the sadistic look grew into one of evil pleasure.

 _No,_ Leia swallowed down the urge to cry. She wouldn’t give that monster the satisfaction of her pain.

Could she have done more? Pleaded more intensely? Offered some sort of bargaining chip that Tarkin could’ve taken instead? Offer a lie that he would’ve lapped up?

The thought swirled around in Leia’s head, the possible _what if’s_ and innate guilt starting to ebb away at her subconsciousness. There must’ve been something she could’ve done— something she could’ve said that would’ve saved Alderaan from its fiery fate! But even as she stressed and a little voice in her mind whispered that Alderaan’s blood was on her hands, Leia knew it would’ve all been futile.

Tarkin had not cared for information nor a matter of bargaining. He’d stared out that view-port at Alderaan and there had been a lust for blood in his eyes— for power. He’d wanted to see Alderaan burn. He’d wanted to prove the destruction his space station could bring, knowing the terror of such would send shockwaves across the Universe until every planet fell into his submission. Anything of relevance that Leia could’ve given him would’ve just been interesting information he’d take before the orders of Alderaan to be destroyed would’ve been given anyway.

Alderaan’s fate had lied in the hands of a man who had been excited to crush it.

_You may fire when—_

The door to her cell suddenly whooshed open, the silence that had felt so claustrophobic before now being filled by a heavy mechanical breathing. Darth Vader stood in the entrance of her cell, his dark figure looming over the room and an aura of intimidation seeming to following him.

As the doors closed behind his threatening figure, Leia felt like a trapped animal who’d just had a predator released into her cage.

“Organa,” Vader hissed, his voice modifier making him sound just as intimidating as his six-foot figure. Sitting down on her metal bed, she had to crane her head up in order to look into the soulless eye-sockets of his mask. Normally, Leia would’ve stood up and tried to at least hold her ground but with the recent events, she was sure that should she attempt to stand, her legs would wobble and she would end up beside his feet.

Even though his mask covered his face, Leia could still feel his glare. It felt penetrating, like he was trying to burn holes in her skin. There was so much hatred and anger rolling off him that the starkness of her cell suddenly became stuffy.

 _Always look someone in the eye; never let someone know you are afraid of them_ , Bail had told her once. _Never let them underestimate you._ So even though Leia felt ready to cave into exhaustion, her heart feeling like it was made of rocks, she levelled Vader with a blank gaze and kept her shoulders straight.

“Lord Vader,” she nodded tautly, hoping to exude the same coldness as he. “If you’ve come to gloat, be my guest. I doubt anything you say could make me hate you more than I do right now.”

The echo of Vader’s mechanical hand clamping down on her shoulder, sent a shiver down Leia’s spine. The area of her shoulder where defined bruises still lay burned slightly at the memory, nausea creeping in as Leia remembered how harsh his gloved hand had been. He’d created a vice-grip upon her skin, holding her in place as Alderaan had been destroyed; she couldn’t have pulled out of his grip even if she’d wanted to— and she had wanted to.

The nausea only grew when Leia came to the realisation that that had been the first proper contact she’d ever had with her biological father. He’d not held her when she’d born, he’d not been there to catch her when she fell upon making her first steps . . . instead, he’d bruised her skin, his metal fingers unforgiving and harsh as he’d forced her to watch her planet burn.

Vader’s respirator sounded louder in the silence of Leia’s prison cell. He breathed for several cycles before replying, his tone almost curious. “There is a lot of anger in you at my presence.”

It wasn’t until he said it that Leia realised he was right. Underneath her exhaustion, her heart break and her nausea, she _was_ angry— really, really angry. But how could she not be?

“You blew up my home!”

Even with his voice modifier, his patronising tone ebbed through. “You have not lived on Alderaan for over two weeks.”

Leia found rage creeping into her voice, her fists clenching at her sides. “And therefore you expect me to not feel angry about its destruction?” The last word tingled on her tongue, feeling wrong to say. It tasted vile. “Regardless of the recent two weeks, Alderaan was my home.”

 _You never know a good thing until it is gone_ — that phrase stuck out in Leia’s mind as she thought of the mountain peaks she’d been able to see from the Palace gardens and the flowers that had bloomed in the spring. When she’d first moved to Alderaan, young and filled with so much angst at everything she’d lost, she’d taken the planet for granted. She’d taken the beauty at face value, refusing to properly submerge herself in Alderaan’s culture and customs in some idea of loyalty to Naboo, the planet she’d been raised on and had always considered home.

But as Leia saw a flash of the green laser, blinking away the nightmare she could never wake up from, she realised that like it or not, Alderaan had been her home as well. It could never replace Naboo, in the same way the Organa’s had never been able to replace Luke or Obi-Wan.

Her heart grew even heavier to realise she would never see the sunrise peak over the mountains from her bedroom balcony ever again. Or have a moment of peace with the Organa’s for afternoon tea. Those quiet moments were gone, just like the beauty had been erased.

“Your anger surpasses Alderaan’s liberation. It feels personal— my mere presence affects you deeply.”

Leia found herself spluttering, her glare growing deadly. _Liberation_? How dare he— “What can you expect? I’m in the presence of a monster.”

If Bail were here, he would tell her to hold her tongue. Vader was a powerful man, in both figurative and literal sense. And whilst Leia knew she should be more careful in his presence and hold her vexing attitude back before she shot herself in the foot, she also found that a part of her didn’t care. Consequences be damned, Vader _was_ a monster and she had no trouble in telling him so.

Yet Vader didn’t try to deny that fact. “That may be so but I suggest you refrain yourself, Organa. I have questions for you to answer and if you anger me, you cannot answer them dead.”

His threat was so cold that Leia felt a shiver run down her spine.

 _Our daughter will be offended that her mother keeps calling her a boy_ — Leia thought of the shaggy, dirty blonde haired man who’d placed his hand on his wife’s bulging stomach, a smile on his face as he’d teased said wife about the gender of their child. The love Leia had felt when standing in that room of her dream was complete devoid in her cell.

“What is it that you want to know?”

Vader bristled, his aura of anger pulsing for a second. There seemed to be a thin lid on his murderous rage, as if all it would take is one poke and the beast inside him would lash out. “Do not play games with me, Organa. You know what I want to know: where is my son?”

Leia had expected this— how could she not have? The whole reason Tripp Vero ( _the sleemo_ , Leia mentally rolled her eyes) had infiltrated the Rebellion had been to bring Luke back to Vader, as per the Sith’s orders. Yet he’d failed and Leia had been brought in Luke’s place.

And Leia was sure that Vader had a million questions floating around inside that mask of his. Namely, how she, the Princess of Alderaan— did that title even apply now that the planet was no more?— knew his son, the Imperial Prince. And what she could’ve said to make Luke leave everything behind and join his father’s enemies. There was a lot about his son that Vader had been left in the dark on but Leia refused to be the one to turn on the light-switch.

“I don’t know.”

“I can make this extremely difficult for you, Organa. So I suggest you answer truthfully. I will not hesitate to use force.”

Vader’s gloved hand clenched at his side and if his mask was taken off, Leia was sure he would be glaring underneath. She refused to feel intimidated by him, however.

“Well then, I guess it is a good thing that I’m telling the truth, Lord Vader,” she hissed his name. The echo of the bruises on her shoulder ached as he clenched his hand once again. “I do not know where your son currently is. Being shot with a stun blast and dragged to the spy-you-killed’s ship means I wasn’t kept up to date on where Luke went as the base evacuated.”

She could only hope he was with Rex and Ahsoka, as far away from this murder weapon as possible.

Vader seemed to become more irate. “Was it your hatred for me that made you target my son?”

“I didn’t target anyone!”

“Lies,” Vader hissed, his voice modifier managing to convey all his venom. “You dare lie when there is evidence of you manipulating my son? There are testimonies holding you accountable for his departure.”

Sure, Leia would admit that had she not arrived on Coruscant, Luke would never have left. Without her voice of reason, he would’ve never gathered the strength to find a way out of the hell the Emperor had roped him into. It had been her presence and her words that had made him see sense and leave Coruscant behind. But Vader seemed to be ignoring one key detail: Luke had chosen to leave. Her words may have motivated him but the decision to leave had been his to make.

“I didn’t tell Luke anything he didn’t already know!”

Leia could almost see the anger swirling around Vader. Even with her Force-sensitivity shielded, she could sense his utter rage and frustration. The Dark Side was all around him, like a fog that followed him everywhere he went— or a raincloud that could never stop raining.

_Stop! Stop now! Come back! I love you!_

_LIAR! You’re with him! You brought him here to kill me!_

_Anakin—_

With Mustafar echoing in her mind, Leia could suddenly see Vader’s desperateness. He desperately wanted Luke back, just like he’d wanted her mother to stay by his side no matter what. But the darkness the Emperor had corrupted him with only turned that desperation into anger. And in turn, that anger burned like a fire, not caring who got scolded in the process.

“You stole my son from me!” Vader pointed a finger at her.

“I didn’t _steal_ anything from you!”

“You filled his head with lies and you manipulated him into joining your pitiful cause!”

“Luke chose to leave! Joining the Rebellion was a decision he made himself!”

“Because you pushed him down that path!”

Leia let out a weary sigh, knowing they could go round in circles for hours if they didn’t put the argument to bed. As much as she hated to admit it, she could see the likeliness between her and Vader that Luke always liked to point out. They both had the same stubbornness, the same drive to be right and the same fierceness that refused to let something go. They both needed the last word and Leia found herself wondering what life would’ve been like had Vader not fallen to darkness.

Would the likeliness between her and Anakin have stood out more than it did with Vader? Would they have argued a lot, especially once Leia had entered her teenager years?

From everything Leia had heard from Obi-Wan’s stories, her birth father was the source for most of her fiery personality. Just like Leia, he’d stretched out every argument past a point of being healthy, never taking any of his Master’s “ _because I told you so_ ”s. Would he have found a way to combat Leia’s glare and shut any argument she tried to rise, down?

It stung more than Leia thought it should have when she realised she’d never know. The man before her shared her blood— as much as Leia wanted to deny her parentage, she knew it was the truth— but he would never be the father that she had inherited so much from.

“You should be thanking me.”

The voice modifier butchered Vader’s scoff but Leia could sense a hint of incredulity in his tone. “Do tell me why that should be.”

Leia felt a lump rise in her throat as her thoughts flitted back to how Luke had been two weeks ago, when she’d first seen him on Coruscant. When they’d reunited for their birthday, about five weeks ago, he’d been the happy and bright sunshine brother she’d always known. They’d joked over burgers, teased each other and spent a moment dreaming about their mother.

The Luke she’d seen two weeks ago, when she’d barged into his school with a lightsaber wound and panic in her veins, had not been that brother. Luke had looked like a shell of himself, his hair shaggy, dark circles under his eyes and there had been an air of despair surrounding him. He’d already lost some of his fight and the sunshine brother she loved had been nearly smothered by darkness.

Had she not intervened, Leia was sure that the brother she’d always known would be swallowed by the same evil that had claimed their father, by now.

It was a cold thought— and not one she liked to entertain.

“Do you know what the Emperor was doing to Luke whilst you were away?” Leia swallowed the lump down, blinking hard to stop the prickling of tears. Whenever she thought of Luke with how he’d been, isolated and so filled with fear, she always felt the urge to sob. “Do you know how he was hurting him?”

“The Emperor’s relationship with my son is none of your concern.”

Leia clenched her hands into fists, feeling the urge to protect Luke regardless of the fact he was not here. Did Vader not realise how close he’d been to losing his son? “He was alienating Luke! He lived in fear!”

“The Emperor knows better than to hurt my son.”

Leia wanted to say: does he? As the supreme dictator of their Galaxy, the Emperor answered to no one— especially not to his apprentice. Leia wanted to voice her opinions on Vader’s delusion; after all, the Emperor had gone behind Vader’s back to secretly train Luke so why would he care about Vader’s feelings if Luke were to get hurt by his hands? But even as she prepared to say it, Leia knew it wouldn’t end well.

“It wasn’t fear of the Emperor.”

Vader was silent for a minute, his heavy breathing filling the space around them. It made the hairs on Leia’s arms stand up, the respirator sounding callous with each sharp intake that Vader took. “You seem to care about my son,” he said finally.

And wasn’t that the truth. The whole reason Leia was in this mess was because of how much she loved her brother— she’d risked her life by going to Coruscant to free Luke of the Sith’s manipulation and she’d pushed him out of the way of the stun blast the spy had sent out.

She wondered about how she could downplay her emotions so not to arouse suspicion within Vader.

“We’re friends,” Leia shrugged. _A sabacc face_ , had been what Bail had called the look she was now sporting; it was when a person kept their expression cool, in order to not give anything away.

The natural Politician inside of her had its moment of glory as she kept her expression passive, not giving a hint of a lie upon her face.

However, Vader’s suspicions were not quelled. “And how was this friendship formed, Organa? To my knowledge, you have never been in contact with my son before two weeks ago.”

“It seems that there is more to Luke than you know.”

Leia could’ve slapped herself the seconds the words left her mouth. Instantly, Vader’s aggression from before returned, with a whole new fire of frustration burning below the surface. He pointed a gloved finger at her and Leia felt her heart pick up its pace as he towered over her.

“I suggest you do not aggravate me, girl.”

 _You must think before you speak at times, Leia,_ Obi-Wan had repeated that phrase to her countless times in her childhood. Normally he’d say it after the Nubian school called to inform him of a verbal altercation Leia had landed herself in with either a teacher or peer. _You need to hold your tongue,_ had also been one of Bail’s most recounted phrases for similar reasons.

Growing up, Leia had always rolled her eyes at her guardians words but looking back on it now, Vader looming over like death itself, she realised she should’ve internalised their wisdom more.

“I will ask you again, Organa: how is it that you know my son?”

Knowing the Sith would be able to sense a lie, Leia decided half-truths would be the way to go about this. “We met on Empire Day several years ago and we became friends.”

“That does not then answer why you targeted my son to join your deplorable Rebellion.”

“Luke had confided in me on some of his fears for the future and his disagreements with the Empire. Once I was exposed as a member of the Rebel Alliance, I knew he would be a great ally so I asked him to join our cause. He chose to leave on his own free will.”

Vader’s fists clenched so hard that Leia heard the metal whine ever so slightly. “So, you _did_ target my son.” There was pure malice in his tone, his very form being rage reincarnate.

“I did not—“

“DO NOT LIE!”

Leia jumped at Vader’s booming tone. Her mouth clamped shut, the shock making her freeze. Her heart skipped a beat and her stomach did a flip as fear quickly flooded through her system. But Leia took in a shaky breath, trying to rid herself of the anxiousness coursing through her veins, moulding her face back to one of passiveness.

( _Stop! Stop now! Come back! I love you!_

_LIAR!)_

“I am simply being honest,” Leia cooled her voice down, refusing to let him know that her heart was still hammering in her chest. It sounded like a drum in her ears, pounding in a off-beat tune that only made her stomach flip even more.

Leia was sure that under his mask, Vader was snarling. “You are a traitor and a manipulator— I doubt you even know what honesty means.”

“The only traitor in this room is you, Lord Vader.”

His looming figure seemed to grow. “You _dare_ question my loyalty when it is you who betrayed the Empire we live under?”

Leia glared up at him, heart thumping heart settling down just in time for her to feel a boost of confidence. “My loyalty is reserved for democracy, My Lord,” she hissed his title, the words feeling like vermin in her mouth. “Not the warped dictatorship you live by.”

When Vader next spoke, his words sounded so patronising that Leia wondered if he would simply kill her should she try to reach out and punch him. “You are inexperienced, child. Democracy failed and with its failure, the Empire was born to thrive.”

“It only failed because the Emperor sat in the heart of the Senate and killed it from the inside!”

Vader paused for a second, like he was mulling over her words. “You are dangerously naive; in a sense, you remind me of my son, Organa. His youth often blinds him to what my experience can see so plainly.”

“And what does your experience see?”

“The Galaxy needed guidance and the Emperor was willing to be the one to provide it.”

Should she not have impending death looming over her, Leia would’ve snorted. She wondered if these had been his beliefs before he’d succumbed to the Dark Side or if he was living in denial because the darkness has seeped in so deep. How could he honestly believe a dictatorship was what the Galaxy needed?

Alderaan’s destruction was the perfect example of what happens when you give too much power to one person. The Death Star is a weapon that never should’ve been made.

"The Empire was built on blood," Leia growled. "It uses fear and intimidation to keep planets in line. You cannot tell me that oppression is the best guidance."

"The blood you speak of was that of corrupted individuals who showed their true colours of deception."

“I can see there is no room for argument in your mind, Lord Vader,” Leia lent back against the metal wall. It was cold to touch, even with her red tunic as a barrier. But the cold made her focus, to realise that this was real and she needed to be careful. “However, it seems your son doesn’t share your opinion.”

Vader’s voice was booming, a deep heaviness in his tone. “Luke is perilously naive and too innocent for his own good. You took advantage of his naivety.”

His words had Leia sitting forward a little, a frown resting on her face. “You call Luke’s goodness naive?”

“I call his _inexperience_ naive.”

Leia wondered if Vader honestly believed that time and a further exposure to corruption would change Luke’s mind and his beliefs. Whether it was because of Obi-Wan’s teachings in their childhood or just Luke’s innate moral compass, but Leia knew her brother was more than aware that Empire = bad and democracy = good. Sith = bad. Dark Side = evil.

The only reason Luke had started on a path towards the Dark Side had been because the Emperor had conveniently taken away all his lifelines and methods of garnering help. It wasn’t naivety that made Luke good but his ethics and a pure heart.

Before she could stop herself— and she really should have stopped herself— Leia found herself asking: “Why are you so desperate for Luke to follow in your footsteps? To sell his soul in exchange for what? Power?”

Vader bristled. “My ambition for my son is not something you should concern yourself with, Organa.”

Leia clenched her fists, pushing her chin up with a new-found fire. He may not realise it but when it came to Luke, everything was her concern. “Luke is my friend, My Lord; I know that the path you attempt to push him down is not one he wants for himself.”

“And I suppose it is my son who told you that?” Vader seemed to hiss.

Leia shrugged, keeping her expression cool. There was a part inside her that loved to make Vader irate— she knew she was playing with fire and that every word that came out of her mouth could be Vader’s breaking point but Leia had never been one to back down simply because the stakes had been raised. It was wrong and it was dangerous but Leia loved to poke the beast.

“He didn’t need to say anything. If he’d wanted it, he’d be here.”

Vader paused and the darkness swirling around him turned cold for a minute. It was like the raincloud over his head sent out a shot of lightning, making him freeze. When he finally replied, there was a threatening edge to his tone; something in his voice dared her to anger him. “You seem to believe that you know better than me about my son’s destiny.”

If it were a perfect world, Leia would’ve rolled her eyes and said: _duh, he’s my brother— I’m pretty sure our destinies are intertwined._ But alas, it was not a perfect world and wasn’t that the whole reason she was in this mess?

So instead, she shrugged in a nonchalant way because she knew it would irk him. “I believe your power-hungry attitude blinds you to the truth.”

“And what truth do you believe that is?”

Vader’s voice was deadly but Leia pushed on, refusing to back down. In moments like this, she was proud to be her father’s daughter— the daughter of the Jedi he used to be. It was Anakin’s fire and stubbornness that willed her forward, speaking her mind even when danger loomed.

“Luke isn’t like you.”

The unspoken words of: _he’s like her_ , lingers in the space of Leia’s cell. Because Leia knows that Vader is aware that whilst Luke inherited his blonde mop and blue eyes from the man their father had been, his heart and innate goodness came straight from his mother. Padme had been unable to stand beside her husband as he’d unleashed evil upon the Galaxy and Leia knew Luke wouldn’t stand beside his father, either.

_I don’t know you anymore! Anakin, you’re breaking my heart! You’re going down a path I can’t follow!_

The only naivety Leia would admit Luke had, was his belief that Vader was redeemable. ( _There’s good in him— I know, I know there’s still . . .”_ ) And even then, that naivety was fuelled by his goodness and his belief that no one was past forgiveness.

(An image of Tarkin smiling as Alderaan turned to dust filled her mind and Leia wondered if Luke would change his stance on that belief. Maybe not everyone was past forgiveness, but some were.)

“You pretend to know me well enough to make that assumption,” Vader growled. Should his mask be lifted, Leia knew he’d be glaring daggers at her. Her words had hit a nerve and she wasn’t sure if it was because they’d rung with truth or because they’d forced Vader to open his eyes to something he’d been denying. Whether Vader wanted to admit it or not: Luke was his mother’s son.

 _I know you more than you know,_ Leia wanted to say. She’d been raised on stories about the very man before her— or at least, the man he’d been.

Leia knew she could put the whole conversation to bed by just nodding and pretending that she didn’t know the truth about the man behind the mask. She was walking on dangerous ground, getting closer and closer to the cliffside and one wrong word could send her over the edge. But there was a nagging thought in Leia’s mind of _why?_ Why had he become what he now is? Why had he embraced the Dark Side?

“All I know of you is what my father told me,” Leia tried to control her breathing as her heart rate picked up. She pressed her hands in her lap to try and hide how they were slightly shaking. “I’ve heard a lot of stories.”

“I am sure Senator Organa did not sugar-coat the horrors to which I’ve committed. I am fully aware you would’ve been raised to see my acts of liberation as murder from Organa’s pacifist perspective.”

 _Again with the liberation,_ Leia wanted to roll her eyes. She wondered if it was denial or genuine belief that his acts of mass-murder were done for the greater good. “He also told me a lot about the life you led before you put on the mask. That you were one of the individuals you now call corrupted."

It was as if the room suddenly got colder. Vader’s respirator hitched for a second, like he’d taken a sharp intake of breath. And then he was towering over her, his dark frame nothing but icy and terrifying. His aura of darkness became stifling and Leia was glad she was shielding her mind to avoid tendrils of evil shooting out of him.

“I suggest you never speak of such things.”

Leia wondered if she was dreaming it when she heard a hint of strain in his tone.

She wanted to push further, to demand why— why had he sold his soul and abandoned what he’d once held so dear? He’d been married, with children on the way yet he’d given all of that up for the darkness and the power he now wrapped around himself like a shield. From Obi-Wan’s stories, Leia knew that the Emperor had hidden himself in plain sight throughout the waning years of the Republic. Obi-Wan had always recounted on how friendly the Chancellor had been towards their father, taking him under his wing and providing a sort of comfort that the Jedi had denied.

But Leia couldn’t piece together how that friendship— how that manipulation— could’ve forced her father to give everything up and become the monster he was now.

She carried on as if Vader had never spoken. "Although my father never explained to me why you decided to destroy everything you once stood for. He didn't seem to know why you suddenly abandoned everything in search of the darkness you now possess."

"Like I said: the deception was revealed and I knew where my loyalties laid. Your father was a fool in his beliefs, Organa. He never opened his eyes to the truth and he died because of it."

Speaking to him now, Leia could see how deep the Emperor's manipulation run. Vader's entire brain had been re-wired. He truly believed the Jedi had been the evil and the corrupt and that Palpatine had been the Galaxy's saving grace. "You abandoned everything, don't you see that?" Her voice was barely a whisper. "You destroyed everything-- and for what?"

Leia didn't expect Vader to reply and when he did, she felt her heart skip a beat. "For reasons you will never understand."

“Luke misses you.”

Leia doesn’t really know why she said it but the words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop herself. She thought back to Luke and the countless times she’d shared a quiet moment with him over the past three weeks, ever since they’d left Coruscant behind.

_And I know you hate him but I don’t. I love him Leia, he’s our father whether you see him that way or not. And I miss him._

Luke had looked so distraught in their first week on the run, the reality of what had happened finally having sunk in. He’d been free of the Emperor’s grasp but the happiness had been bittersweet for his freedom had also meant leaving his father. Leia thought of her brother’s dried tear-tracks and the way his face had crumpled whenever recounting memories about their father.

As Leia thought of Luke, she found herself speaking her mind, unable to censor herself. “How Luke can be your son, I don’t know. Everything in him is good; his heart is so pure and he cares so deeply and openly. He always does the right thing, regardless of what it costs. How he can come from someone so cruel and callous, I don’t know.”

 _And how could I come from you too,_ Leia mentally added. There were deep imperfections in her that were undeniable links to her birth father: her anger, her impulsiveness and her aggressive nature. But where Anakin had taken all of those traits and helped create the monster before her, Leia pushed all those imperfections towards goodness. To helping people. To helping the Galaxy.

It gave her a little courage to know she was in control of the same things inside her that had driven Vader to the Dark Side.

“You don’t deserve him,” Leia finished. _Or me._

Vader made a growling sound, taking a step closer. “I suggest you choose your next words carefully, Organa. You seem not to know your place.” He paused for a second, a more reflective tone gracing his voice. “You have a lot of opinions, especially concerning my relationship with my son.”

“All my opinions have been formed from Luke’s perspective, mingled in with the stories I have heard about you.”

_I love him Leia—_

_There was no better Jedi than General Skywalker—_

_There’s good in him. I know, I know there’s still—_

“You do not believe that I care for my son?”

“I think your ability to care is limited.”

_(I love you!_

_LIAR!)_

Leia found herself frowning as the dream of Mustafar once again resurfaced. When her mother had refused to stand beside Vader’s corruption, he’d been overwhelmed with rage. Obi-Wan had always said that Luke and Leia’s mother had been the centre of their father’s universe, even when they were trying to hide their relationship, the elder man had recalled that it had been unsubtly obvious how much Anakin had loved her. Yet in that moment, when Padme had stepped back and refused to partake in his evil, he’d lashed out and hurt the person he’d supposedly loved.

Would he hurt Luke should the boy return to reject him as well? Leia found herself feeling sick at the thought of Luke clutching his neck in the same manner as their mother had once.

With the mask on his face and the way his body stilled, Leia didn’t know how Vader was taking her words. His swirling aura of anger didn’t lash out but it seemed to become icier, like his darkness was being internalised and not projected. Vader’s body was stiff, his hands freezing as they remained balled into fists and his breathing continued to hiss in and out in a continuous cycle.

His next words sent ice down her spine.

“Tell me, Organa, where is it you come from?”

The question rocked Leia and she didn’t truly know how to reply. It wasn’t exactly a secret that Leia was adopted given she joined the Royal House of Alderaan at 10 years old, having appeared out of nowhere. The official story was that Leia was the daughter of one of the Queen’s handmaidens and that when she’d died, Leia had been adopted to become the legal heir. No one had ever questioned the story and Alderaan had beloved their new Princess too much to issue any investigation.

Leia sat up straighter, refusing to flinch as she looked into Vader’s soulless eye-sockets. “Alderaan.”

“You are not Alderaanian.”

A rush of anger flooded Leia’s veins. “You believe you are in a position to dictate my origins, Lord Vader?”

Vader didn’t seem phased by her words. His curiosity was sharp and cutting as he continued to speak as if he were some sort of detective uncovering a massive conspiracy. (Leia tried to ignore the irony of that to the actual truth).

“It is a mere fact. Despite the lies your father spread to cover-up your true origins, there are no documents of a previous life that you led on Alderaan before your adoption.”

Leia froze, wondering how much effort he’d put in to trying to discover the truth concerning her. He seemed to be inching closer and closer to the truth and Leia felt nauseas at the idea of him finally figuring it all out. Would that change anything? Or would she still be a traitor with a death sentence looming over her head?

The itch of abandonment started to grow in Leia’s chest but she pushed it down.

“My past is of no relevance to you.”

“On the contrary,” Vader hissed. “I believe your past holds the key to a great many answers. Your father was a vocal advocate for the pitiful Jedi Order before the Sith rose to power and brought their corruption down.”

“And to what does that have to do with me?” Leia couldn’t help but spit back, confusion and fear starting to mingle together. “The Jedi were all _murdered_ before I was even born.”

“You may try to hide it, Organa, but I can sense your Force-sensitivity. You have been trained by one of my enemies.”

Leia felt her breath hitch in her throat, bile rising up as the realisation of what he’d said sunk in. Yet, even as her hands shook and her heart thumped like a drum in her chest, a small mercy was offered at the fact that Vader didn’t seem to have pieced together the final part of the puzzle.

“I do not know what you’re—“

Vader’s voice grew bitter. His figure looked like a dark shadow that towered over her small frame. Did he really not notice the similarities that Leia shared to both himself and her mother? Did he not see the brown of her eyes? Or sense the fire burning in her chest so akin to his own?

“ _Do not lie_ ,” Vader hissed. He words were deadly and Leia felt herself swallow down any argument she could put forward. Her tongue felt like a block of wood, unable to move. “You have been trained! Was it for this reason that you targeted my son? You knew of Luke’s power and were sent out to indoctrinate him and turn him into a weapon against me?”

“You are so far from the truth Lord Vader that it amuses me,” Leia glared at the man, hissing the words like she were spitting acid. Behind her confident facade, all Leia could feel was genuine fear. Never had she expected him to come so close to the truth and she felt sick to imagine he actually reach it.

“TELL ME THE TRUTH!”

His booming words had Leia’s hair stand up and the pounding of her heart seemed to increase. Her hands started wobble so she placed them in her lap and refused to move out of fear that she should tremble and give her anxiety away. What was the proper way to react when a mass-murder (who should also happen to be your father) displays erratic and thunderous behaviours towards you?

 _Breathe,_ Leia told herself. _In, out. In, out. In, out. Don’t let him win— he has no control over you._ “The fact you believe you deserve anything baffles me, in all honesty.”

The anger returned at full force. Vader stepped forward and his entire being exuded hatred and darkness. “Do not _insult_ me.”

“Because you have shown me the same courtesy?” Leia shot back, snarling in his direction.

“For a Princess, you lack manners and respect.”

“I save my respect for those who deserve it,” Leia spat, refusing to hide from his violent display. “And unfortunately for you, Lord Vader, you don’t make the cut.”

“You think I am insulted by your petty childishness?” Vader hissed back, appearing completely unfazed. “You are nothing but a misguided traitor who corrupted my son. I care not for your thoughts, girl.”

Anger burned in Leia at Vader’s words and all fear she’d felt earlier flew away as she seethed. The entire situation surrounding them was so complex that Leia often found herself confused, stuck between emotions without any idea on how to process all the conflicting thoughts.

Whether Leia wanted to admit it or not, this was the man who’d fathered her. The man who shared her genes and had once rubbed her mother’s belly, wishing for a girl. It seemed impossible and Leia wanted to dent it— she wanted to push the truth to the back of her mind and remind herself she was the daughter of a Jedi, and a Jedi only, but with Vader standing before her, it was hard.

_Our daughter will be offended that her mother keeps calling her a boy._

The image of Anakin Skywalker, blue eyes and a happy smile, floated into Leia’s mind’s eye. She knew, without a doubt, that Anakin’s love would’ve been limitless. Unconditional and everlasting. Had Luke not wanted to be a Jedi, in the same manner that he didn’t want to be a Sith, Leia knew Anakin would’ve loved Luke regardless. Obi-Wan had told them enough times in their childhood that had their father not fallen, he would’ve adored them.

Even Ahsoka had said the same thing.

But what about Vader? Leia knew his love had limits— if it even _was_ love and not possessiveness.She found some of her anger returning, like a candle being relit, as she thought about the complication of the whole situation. For her entire life, Leia had always seen Vader and Anakin as separate entities. Her father was the Jedi, the hero and the husband who’d loved so wholly and completely— he was the person she was proud to be the daughter of. But where Anakin was love, Vader was hate. He was the monster who’d snuffed the light out of her father, who’d killed him and slaughtered innocents in cold blood.

Luke often called Leia’s separation of the men as a copy mechanism, for he’d come to accept that Vader and Anakin were two sides to the same coin. Anakin was the light in Vader’s darkness and Vader had been the darkness inside Anakin’s light. And at times like now, Leia would even agree with her brother (not that she would admit that to Luke.)

The feeling of abandonment spread through Leia like a virus, making her feel cold. Even if she wanted to deny their relation, a small part of Leia still expected it to mean something.

He knew she was Force sensitive. So why was he blind to everything else? Did he not see the resemblance she shared to her mother? To his wife? Did he not see the shape of her face? Or sense the Skywalker determination brewing inside her?

He was so focused upon Luke that Leia was nothing but scum to him.

An enemy.

He was so desperate for her to be the villain who took his son from him that he was blinded by the truth staring him right in the face.

The thought of being discarded made Leia angry, despite her own refusals to acknowledge him as her father. Her mind was all over the place, her heart thumping in her chest and her blood boiling over with anger that she wasn’t sure was well-founded or not.

The words slipped out of her mouth with malicious intent, intent on hurting him in the same way that Leia was hurting herself. _I care not for you;_ Vader’s words went round her mind in a loop, getting louder and louder until Leia’s eyes burned with anger and she snarled at the dark figure of the monster before her.

“You’re a vile monster who deserves everything that is coming to him! Why can’t you accept that you lost? Luke _left_ you— he doesn’t want anything to do with you or your evil Sith religion! You destroyed everything and if you honestly believe Luke would ever join your side then you're insane! Especially after he discovers his mother’s death is on _your_ hands—“

Almost instantaneously, Leia knew she’d said the wrong thing. Her heart spiked, the feeling of panic spreading like something cold and sharp in her chest, as the air in her lungs was suddenly cut short. There was something tight wrapping around her throat like an invisible lasso squeezing tighter and tighter until the pain was unbearable. Leia’s body raised up off the bed slightly, her chin pointing upwards as she clamped her hands around her throat as if trying to find the sudden chokehold and force it to let go.

Out of the corner of her eye, Leia noticed Vader standing just like he had on Mustafar; his hand was raised, his gloved fingers pinching together as he cut off her air supply. His entire body radiated anger and there was a pure maliciousness to him as he squeezed tight enough for her to suffer before dying.

His presence once again pushed on her mind, the cold feeling returning as metaphorical fingers pushed on her mind shields, demanding entry during her time of distraction. But despite the fuzziness in her mind as the oxygen was denied to her, Leia kept her shields strong and tight. This only enraged Vader more and his grip on her throat tightened.

Leia’s mouth opened wide, her lips turning a sickly blue shade as her cheeks followed suit. A sliver of air was let into her throat and it burned going down, the area around her throat feeling like someone was pouring acid down her. Her mind felt like it was splitting open as she focused all her energy into keeping her shields raised and slowly black spots danced in her vision, enticing her towards the end.

For a dark second, Leia actually hoped that Vader would kill her. Not for any suicidal reasons or because the sereneness of death seemed so much appealing to the living hell she was currently in— Leia wanted him to kill her because she knew, if he did the unthinkable, everything would change. Luke would never be able to forgive his father for killing his twin and with that would come two things: Vader would lose his son for good and he’d realise he’d murdered his daughter.

And given Luke was so adamant that Vader felt remorse and guilt for his part in their mother’s death, Leia hoped that her death would destroy the monster killing her right now. She hoped that the revelation of her parentage— because it would most likely be revealed after her demise as Leia doubted Luke would continue to hide it— would devastate the Sith.

There was no guarantee but Leia didn’t think it was too outlandish to think that Vader would feel a little remorse at murdering his own child given to how attached he seemed to be of Luke. Leia wanted Vader to look at her after he’d killed her and see the true horror of what he’d done— to his own daughter no less.

But as quickly as that horrific thought came, it left just as quickly. As the dark spots in Leia’s vision became bigger and her brain pounded with pain as her throat failed to gasp in any more air, she thought of Luke. Her brother would be devastated at her death— especially if it was at the hands of a man he loved despite the darkness. His soul would be completely shattered to know his father had killed his own sister.

It was because of Luke that Leia released her mind shields. Even in the last minutes of her life, Leia couldn’t bring herself to drop them entirely so Vader could bombard every memory and thought she’d ever had in her life. It was like turning knob around, lowering her shields ever so slightly so only what she wanted him to see would be exposed.

Vader instantly pushed in, his cold presence filling her mind as he lapped up everything she wanted him to see.

And then the pressure on her throat released entirely. Leia fell down onto the metal bed with a loud thud, her chest and brain feeling tight as she drank in air like a thirsty man would chug water. Nausea settled in her stomach and Leia squeezed her eyes shut, trying to control the sudden dizziness in her mind. Everything around her span and her throat felt so dry as she began to cough uncontrollably.

Tears naturally sprang to her eyes as everything felt so overwhelming, her brain still feeling like it was about to burst from the lack of oxygen. Leia wasn’t sure how long it took her to recover from the sudden strangulation that had been close to claiming her life. She wasn’t sure how long her forehead had been pressed against the metal of her bed to ground herself nor how long her eyes had been closed to kill off the dizziness.

But when Leia finally looked up, her tear tracks now dry against her cheeks, Vader was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote this several times which is why it took longer to come out but the next chapter won't take so long to be updated :)


	24. Aren't You A Little Short For A Stormtrooper?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because the last chapter took so long to update, I'm posting this one earlier. Enjoy :)

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Luke mumbled as Ahsoka handed him a Stormtrooper helmet. He was dressed in the bulky armour of the Empire’s minions, the material loose around him for he was both too skinny and short to fit properly.

“Its the only disguise we got,” Ahsoka reminded the boy for the millionth time as she handed Rex a helmet as well. Unlike Luke, Rex’s armour fit a little more tightly given his age and bulky build. Rex grumbled as he held the Stormtrooper helmet under his arm, looking extremely unhappy to be wearing the uniform that had once resembled his own from the war.

They were docked in one of the hangars on the moon-sized space station Luke had followed Leia’s presence to. Seeing the massive space station from the distance, all three of them had been struck with horror at how the Empire had built a weapon so large and devastating that it had already caused irreversible havoc.

The Death Star had been what Ahsoka had called it. As a Rebel spy she’d heard rumours of the Empire building a weapon so powerful it could wipe out entire planets but the rumours had been just that: whispers in the dark with no evidence. It seemed the Empire had pushed for their weapons’ completion years earlier than expected and before the Rebel Alliance had even a hope of figuring out a way to destroy it, the Death Star had already committed an act so horrible.

News about Alderaan had come to them almost immediately after the incident had occurred. Trillion were dead and the Death Star would soon be hungry for more. But as Luke put the Stormtrooper helmet in place, he knew that now was not the time to mourn for the devastating loss. Now was the time to focus and find his sister.

“Right, so you know the plan?” Ahsoka was nervous even if she wouldn’t say it. They were on an Imperial battle station, surrounded by millions of their enemies and on top of that, she could sense a Sith milling around. She’d just found out Luke was the son of her former Master and whilst Ahsoka was willing to do all it takes to get Leia, the daughter of Anakin, back she didn’t want to lose Luke in the process.

Luke nodded, finding it difficult to see in the bulkiness of the armour and helmet. Even Ahsoka seemed to be wearing the armour better as it didn’t seem so bulky on her. “Yes. Rex and I will find a control room and locate Leia. No detours, no drawing attention to ourselves and once we get Leia, we come straight back here.”

Ahsoka nodded. “I’ll turn off the tractor beam so we can leave without any issue. If I’m not here when you guys get back, you leave without me. Understood?”

“Kid—“ Rex started to complain, pulling a face.

“No Rex,” Ahsoka set him with a hard glare. “I know you’ll always have my back but the twins are the priority here. You get them to safety if I’m not back in time.”

“No life is worth more than another!” Luke argued, shaking his head at Ahsoka’s words.

Ahsoka just sighed, giving Luke a meaningful look. “If I’m not back in time,” she repeated sincerely. “Leave without me.” She turned to Rex. “Alright, Rex?”

The elder man looked displeased and there was a tautness to his jaw but he nodded nonetheless. Luke noticed a haunted look in his eye, as if he’d been in this situation before. “Alright kid but you better be back in time.”

“I’ll try,” Ahsoka smirked before looking at Luke with more seriousness. “There’s a Sith Lord on this station, no doubt Vader; you need to shield your mind to try and hide your presence. There will be chaos if he senses your ability in the Force— no doubt he’ll either want you dead or train you to be something unimaginable. Keep your shields up and stay out of trouble.”

Luke nodded, watching as she put on the helmet from one of the Stormtroopers they’d knocked out and stole the armour from earlier. Ahsoka tilted her head towards Rex and Luke as she prepared to leave the ship.

“May the Force be with you.”

Artoo beeped encouragingly and Luke patted his dome as Ahsoka walked down the ramp to do her part in the rescue mission. “Alright kid,” Rex cleared his throat as he put his helmet on as well. “You ready?”

“Oh my goodness,” Threepio seemed irate as Luke nodded back at the elder man. “I do hope we make it out of here alive!” Artoo whistled in what seemed like agreement and Luke felt dread settle in his stomach. The mission seemed near impossible: they were on a killer space station where his sister was a prisoner and his father, who he’d not seen in five weeks, roamed the halls. Luke rammed his shields up tight but even then he had a suspicious feeling that his father would be able to sense him anyway.

It would be a race against time to find Leia and get off the Death Star alive but Luke was willing to take all the chances he got.

“Ready.”

* * *

Darth Vader paced the length of his quarters, his mechanical legs moving without much input. All around him lay the remains of his room: furniture was splintered and broken in half, objects were scattered across the floor, all squished beyond repair and the wall was dented from items flying at it. But no matter how many times Vader clenched his fist and the Dark Side responded to his brewing emotions, nothing stopped the storm raging inside him.

He could still see Leia Organa’s face in his mind’s eye— her hands were clasped around her neck, her eyes were bulging and her lips were parted as she failed to take in any air. Even with his red-tinted vision, he’d been able to see her face turning a sickly purple colour as she flailed in the air with no escape.

But then Vader blinked behind his mask and he realised that it wasn’t Leia Organa in his mind’s eye: it was his late wife. It was Padme clutching at her throat; it was Padme struggling to take in air as she hovered above the ground, her pregnant belly suddenly more pronounced.

And then Padme— or was it Leia Organa?— fell to the ground in his mind’s eye and Vader was left with a cold feeling brewing in his chest.

Daughter . . . it seemed impossible— improbable, even! And yet Vader had invaded the former Princess’ mind when she’d lowered her shields just enough for him to make entry. He’d seen the memories she’d pushed forward to him and he’d just _known_.

_Luke, looking far younger than the man he was growing up to be now, stared into what should’ve been Leia Organa’s eyes. He was crying, his face full of the chubbiness of a child and his features not properly defined. “No matter how many lightyears separate us, you’ll always be my sister Leia.”_

_An Inquisitor, her blade clashing against a blue one as she glared down at where Leia Organa stood her ground. Her teeth were bared and a look of sudden shock filled her eyes. “So, you really are Skywalker’s daughter.”_

_Obi-Wan, older than when Vader had last seen him, knelt on the ground like he was addressing a child. He looked sad and there was a weariness to his face as he reached out to place his hands on the young girl’s shoulders. “Your safety is more important than anything.”_

Daughter— the word seemed foreign like he couldn’t truly understand what it meant. It felt like lightyears ago that Vader had been a younger man, a foolish man, placing his hand on his wife’s round stomach and wishing for a baby girl to be inside. It had been a different man who’d teased Padme over the gender of their child and day-dreamed of a girl who would look just like her mother, carrying herself with the same grace and having the same passion for change that his wife had had.

 _“Ani,”_ Padme’s voice called in his mind, a memory which felt more like a dream, resurfacing after all this time. _“What was the name you were going to tell me earlier?”_

The voice that replied was not the harsh modified tones of his respirator but the soft voice of a man who was speaking to his lover. There was youth in the voice, inexperience and excitement. _“What do you mean, Angel?”_

When Vader closed his eyes behind his mask, he could almost see Padme as if he were back to that day, so many years ago now. Her hair would be falling down her shoulders, her curls perfectly ringed and he could remember wishing for their baby to inherit her wonderful locks. She’d be dressed in a blue night grown and her stomach would be accentuated, heavy with the child she was carrying.

 _“Earlier, we were discussing names and you got pulled away,”_ Padme’s voice was just as sweet as he always remembered. There was an added softness there that she always adopted when talking about their baby. _“You said there was a girl’s name you liked: one your mother would have called you. What was the name, Ani?”_

Even though Vader knew what his younger version was going to say, he found himself truly unable to believe it when the name slipped out his mouth with such love.

_“Leia.”_

Princess Leia Organa: looking back on it, Vader should’ve seen this outcome coming. It did seem absolutely implausible— ( _twins: he was the father to twins!_ )— but then again, it seemed to fit perfectly.

Sixteen years ago, Anakin Skywalker had dreamt of a baby girl who would grow up to look just like her mother. He’d dreamt of a daughter who would be fierce and determined— who wouldn’t back down when men twice her age would cower in her place. He’d desperately wanted a girl who would have Shmi’s strength, Ahsoka’s wit and Padme’s courage.

And Leia Organa seemed to be everything that foolish man had once dreamed for.

She’d kept her chin raised whilst they’d argued in her cell, she’d not shown the emotion that he’d been able to sense raging inside her when Alderaan had been destroyed and even in the face of death, she’d refused to be intimidated. Despite knowing the girl was meant to be his enemy, Vader felt pride at having fathered such a strong-willed and determined young lady.

Daughter: the word seemed to make sense now. Padme had been pregnant with twins: a boy and a girl. Luke and Leia. Two perfect beings born from the love he and his wife had shared, who shined so brightly in the Force and were the best things to have come from their parent’s union.

He thought back to five and a half years ago, when he’d been jolted from his meditation from a strong wave of distress in the Force. It had felt so familiar and strong that Vader had wasted no time in following it. And lo and behold: he’d found his son, Luke.

_“You’re my father,” the boy had said it more as a statement than a question and Vader had guessed the boy knew the truth in the way he’d known Luke was his son at just first glance. The Tatooine suns had been hot, even inside the Lars’ homestead and his son had been weak from dehydration, his eyes not entirely focusing when he’d looked up at the masked intruder._

_“I am.”_

And Vader couldn’t even deny that when he’d looked down at the blonde child who’d seemed to be the perfect mix of himself and his late wife, he'd been confused. For the child had not been the girl he’d been so sure they were having.

But then that confusion had ebbed away to joy for no matter the gender, his child had survived. His son had been born on the fateful day that Vader had lost his wife and whilst he’d still ached for Padme, the pain had been dulled just a tiny bit to know their baby had graced the Galaxy in healthy condition.

As Vader thought of his son, his mind floated to the former Princess he’d left in her cell. His vision was compromised with the red-tint but when he’d looked into Leia’s mind, he’d seen her as she was. Brown hair and brown eyes with pale skin and a strong jaw. The true image of his late wife with hints of his long-deceased mother in there too.

A daughter.

Vader still had no idea how he’d been oblivious to such a fact. Surely he should’ve sensed his children in Padme’s womb? He should’ve known there were two bright Force presences inside of her, both beacons of light that held nothing but hope for the Galaxy. How had he not felt their twin kicks when he’d rubbed his wife’s swollen stomach?

He wondered how Padme had reacted when she’d found out, no doubt heartbroken from his attack on her and laying on what would be her death bed. Had she been happy despite the pain? Or too heartbroken to take joy in what should’ve been the happiest moment of her life?

Vader closed his eyes behind the mask and, not for the first time, he imagined what it would have been like if he’d been there to hold his wife’s hand as she’d birthed their children.

_They weren’t in the sterile medical room that he’d seen so long ago in his nightmares. They were in their bedroom, the only place that he’d felt truly safe throughout the course of the war— and possibly his entire life._

_It wasn’t the small and harsh slave quarters that he’d lived in with his mother, nor the cold and impersonal space the Jedi had provided for him to rest. Their bedroom was warm and it was soft and with Padme in it, it was filled with love._

_“They’re coming,” Padme panted from the middle of their bed. Her forehead was covered in sweat and there were tears running down her cheeks just like his nightmares from decades ago had predicted but with him there, holding her hand, he didn’t fear for her safety. Something in him just knew that she would be alright._

_Even Padme’s screams as she birthed their first born didn’t correlate with the ones that had haunted him as a young man. She was in pain, yes, but it wasn’t a broken sort of pain. She was screaming like she was hurt but she was excited for what would come next._

_In hindsight, Vader didn’t know in what order his children had been born. Had it been Luke or had it been Leia who’d graced the Galaxy first? It filled him with shame that he didn’t even know his son and daughter’s birthing order._

_But as the droid handed a baby into his flesh arms, Vader looked down with no red-tint vision to see his son staring up at him. He had no idea as to what newborn Luke had really looked like but in his dreams, baby Luke had the same dazzling blue eyes as Vader had once owned and there was a tuff of blonde hair on his head._

_“Luke,” Padme whispered and her hand reached out to brush the soft skin on their son’s forehead. She looked tired but there was a happiness there that was unparalleled._

_In the decade before Vader had heard Luke’s call and discovered the truth about his son’s existence, whenever he’d had this dream, it had always been a faceless baby placed into his flesh hands. He’d look down and feel the weight of his child pressed into his skin but there would be no distinguishable features there. And Padme would whisper a name he couldn’t hear, her smile just as bright._

_For five and a half years, Vader had replayed this dream— this hope— over and over again, berating himself countless times for not having been there when Luke had been born. This could’ve happened. He could’ve held his son and smiled at Padme as they shared this moment._

_But alas, he’d been burning in a lava pit and Luke had been born without his father to hold him._

_And then his dream changed. Padme cried out once again, her face contorting in pain before the second cry of a baby pierced the air around them. His daughter was placed in his hold beside his son and despite never having held a newborn before, he knew exactly how to balance his children in his arms._

_“Leia,” Padme whispered and when Vader looked down, he saw the brown eyes of the girl in his detention centre. Brown tuffs of hair stuck out on her head and all he could think of was how he was the father of twins._

Vader opened his eyes, feeling pain when his vision became red-tinted once more and he realised he was standing in the remains of his quarters on the Death Star and not in his bedroom in 500 Republica. His gloved hands felt empty without the infants being cradled in them and when Vader looked down, he thought he saw blood stained on his fingertips.

_Leia._

Padme had whispered that name with so much certainty in his dream that he almost berated himself for having not seen the truth sooner. Whilst he’d never followed Organa’s personal life to any extent, the adoption of his daughter had reached the Imperial hierarchy with much interest.

And when Vader had heard the name of the girl Bail Organa and his wife had adopted, his respirator had hitched. Leia— the name he’d wanted to name his own daughter had Padme been carrying a girl. The name his mother would’ve called him had he not been born male.

But any and all investigations he could’ve made into the new Princess of Alderaan had been halted by the discovery of his son. Leia was a popular name in Core Worlds and when Luke had come into his life, for Vader had not considered the idea of Padme having been pregnant with twins, he’d brushed it off as coincidence.

(Even though something in his mind had nagged whenever Leia Organa’s name had been brought up and he’d been flooded with interested suspicion that she could be Force sensitive just like his son).

As Vader thought of his daughter and the sixteen years he’d missed of her life, he found himself wondering just how Luke knew about the twin Vader had been unaware of. Had Kenobi taken the both of them to Tatooine to be raised by the Lars’? But then why, after ten years, had Leia Organa (or should he call her Leia Skywalker-- or Vader, now?) been pushed to the spotlight as Princess of a Core World?

And even more . . . if Luke had known about his sister, how come he never told Vader the truth? Their relationship had not been perfect— far from it— but Vader had believed it was good enough for his son to admit to having a sister. Had Luke not wanted his father to know? Was he complicit in the lies and the secrecy?

The thought made Vader angry, his fists curling together as he wondered where he’d gone wrong. Luke had never seemed unhappy on Coruscant; sure, they’d had their moments when things had been difficult. Being a father and a Sith were not things that came hand-in-hand but Vader believed he’d done his best and there had been enough good memories with Luke to overshadow the bad.

So why had Luke lied to him for over five years?

He could’ve claimed his daughter five years ago— for Vader had every intention of claiming Leia as his own. He’d undo the indoctrination the Rebellion had fed her and he’d open her eyes to realise that the Empire was the just course of action to follow.

She’d see the error of her ways and join him in making the Galaxy prosper. And with his daughter joining his side, Vader knew Luke would come back almost as immediately.

It all made sense now. The past two weeks of complete confusion, his son’s disappearance and Leia Organa’s involvement, all seemed to fit into place. Palpatine had ordered for Vader’s daughter to be executed, no doubt discovering the truth, and when his sister had been threatened, Luke had left everything behind to protect her. It was so Skywalker-ingly predictable.

Twins— Vader still took a second to process it.

He thought of the Inquisitor he’d seen through Leia’s eyes and how she’d snarled when attempting to kill Vader’s flesh and blood. He’d been curious as to why his Master had sent out a Jedi-killer to bring justice to the Organa traitors but now it all seemed to make sense. Palpatine had predicted Leia would be more difficult to kill and whilst Vader felt horror at the fact his child could’ve died before he’d even learnt of her existence, he also felt pride at the fact she’d survived.

Untrained with nothing but pure skill, his daughter had managed to hold her own against an Inquisitor he’d trained. (An Inquisitor he would kill as revenge the second he got his hands on her).

Vader continued to pace, thinking about how complicated this whole situation seemed to be now. His Master, whilst having preyed on Luke, was wary of the boy’s power. And now it seemed he had reason to fear Leia’s as well. Why else would he order her execution if he’d not believed she could be a rising threat? With the twins combined, Vader knew they would be unstoppable and yet Palpatine had rather extinguish half their power.

Perhaps maybe his Master saw too much of Skywalker in them— sometimes Vader found himself seeing the same. Leia’s passion and her hot-headed attitude had definitely come from who he used to be, compared to her mother. And Luke’s impulsive ways resembled the long-gone Jedi as well.

Or maybe it was the Amidala side present in them that Palpatine feared more.

It would be a lie to say that Vader didn’t fear that side as well.

But where Palpatine was weary of the twins’ (it still managed to shock Vader) power, he found great plans in it. With Luke and Leia by his side, there would be no way his Master would survive the outcome. Once trained and their allegiance pledged to him, Vader knew that his children would be a team unparalleled by many. Like Skywalker and Kenobi, they’d be a force to be reckoned with.

And with their power would come opportunity. They could rule the Galaxy with Palpatine long-gone, making things the way they wanted things to be. As his children’s father, Vader was sure he could reach them and untwist the Rebellion’s lies in ways that his Master would be unable. He could train them to be Sith without making them fulling embrace the Dark Side in the ways that he had. Vader could almost see it now: him and his children on the Imperial Throne, ruling the Galaxy with justness. The Rebellion would be no more and all star systems would bow to their feet, excited for the end of Palpatine’s cruel rule.

 ** _Is that what you really want?_** An annoying voice that sounded like a cross between his younger self and Obi-Wan tingled in his mind. The darkness swirled around it, trying to push it down but with thoughts of his children, it stayed. **_Do you really want Luke and Leia to go down that path? A path you hadn’t even wanted for yourself?_**

Vader seethed. _Of course I want that! And I did chose that path!_

 ** _Not willingly— not really_** _,_ the voice whispered back, sounding less like Obi-Wan now.

 _That doesn’t even matter now._ Vader clenched his fist, turning away as if that would destroy the voice in his mind. But the voice persisted, growing louder each time he thought of his newly-discovered twins.

**_All I wanted— all you wanted— was for our loved ones to be safe and alive. This path that you want to force on Luke and Leia will destroy both of those things._ **

_Palpatine will kill them otherwise!_ Only through submission and false allegiance would his Master allow the twins to survive when Vader brought them back to Coruscant.

**_There are other options to what you desire._ **

Vader growled hating how that youthful voice sounded like himself but spoke like Obi-Wan. What did they know? Luke and Leia were stronger that he was, they could walk the path of darkness and not completely lose themselves, he knew it.

 ** _You don’t know it,_** the voice whispered one final time before the darkness swept in and washed it away. With anger pounding through his veins, Vader saw in a new light.

Now was the time to be careful; he had his daughter in his grasp. All he needed was for his son and then things would be near perfect. He could take his children and bring them before Palpatine for his Master to train and then when they were strong enough, before they even reached adulthood, they would join together as father, son and daughter to defeat the Sith Master’s threat.

It was perfect and Vader found himself eager to make that dream happen.

* * *

Luke raced down the detention centre corridor, the bulkiness of the Stormtrooper armour making him stumble a few times. He could hear Rex talking into the comm on the control panel to deter any nosey troopers from investigating the chaos that had just ensued.

It hadn’t taken very long in order to find Leia after they’d broken into one of the control rooms, having looked at the computers to discover where the detention centre was. They’d left Artoo and Threepio to keep watch as their eyes and ears but nobody had truly stopped them when they’d wandered around in Stormtrooper costumes.

“Hurry up kid, we’re going to have company soon!” Rex yelled down the corridor seconds before he shot the control panel.

Luke’s hand fumbled over the door controls to what he knew to be Leia’s cell. In one loud whoosh motion, they flew open and Luke had barely stepped inside the cell before a pair of arms were thrown around him. He caught his sister with ease, holding her equally as tight as relief filled his bones. After days of worrying, he now had confirmation that she was safe.

When Leia pulled out of the hug, there was a teasing smile on her face that drove the attention away from the relief in her eyes. “Aren’t you a little short for a Stormtrooper?”

Luke pulled off his helmet, feeling suddenly free at the action. The uniform was too claustrophobic for his tastes— and Force was it hard to see! He rolled his eyes at her words. “It was the only disguise available!”

A frown suddenly weighed down on Leia’s face and she punched her brother’s arm in a not-so-light gesture. “What are you doing here? You could’ve been killed!”

“Ow!” Luke rubbed at his arm, his frown identical to his sister’s. “Don’t give me any thanks or anything for saving your skin!”

“I can handle myself!” Leia shot back, crossing her arms with a stubborn look. “I’m hardly a damsel in distress.”

“That’s funny considering I just had to break you out of an Imperial cell.”

“I could’ve escaped if I wanted too!”

Luke raised up his eyebrows; he knew Leia was more than capable of looking after herself but would it kill her to admit that sometimes things were out of her control and that she needed help? _Yes,_ Luke thought to himself. _It probably would._

He crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring how difficult it was in the armour. “So you’re here by choice, huh?”

Leia upturned her nose, her expression showing every inch of her stubbornness. “I find it a lovely establishment, yes.”

Luke opened his mouth to argue more when Rex appeared in the doorway, his blaster raised. “Company is incoming so we can save the sibling squabbles ’til we’re off this hell-hole space station?”

They had just stepped out of the cell into the corridor when a group of Stormtroopers managed to break their way into the detention centre by blowing a hole in the blocked door. Blaster fire opened up, aiming straight at the three of them as they pressed themselves against the wall to avoid being shot.

“Stay down!” Rex roared as he raised his blaster to retaliate. As the twins watched him shoot trooper after trooper down, they saw a hint of the Captain who’d fought bravely during the Clone Wars. It was clear his aim was far superior and with his effortless blasting, nearly all the opposing Stormtroopers fell to the floor.

“We need to get out of here!” Luke yelled the obvious, blasting wildly at the troopers at the other end of the corridor. Unlike Rex, his aim wasn’t as superior, mostly hitting the walls.

“Well thanks for pointing that out!” Leia yelled back, feeling irate at his obviousness for the sense of impending doom dawned on her. Her body pounded with adrenaline as she pressed herself further into the wall to dodge the blaster shots. With no weapon of her own, she was defenceless to their blasts.

“Have you got any bright ideas?” Luke retaliated, continuing to shoot wildly. It was like he didn’t really want to hit his mark— which Leia thought was actually rather on par to her brother’s personality.

Leia scanned the room quickly before she saw it: an entrance to a trash compactor. It wasn’t ideal and possibly bordered on stupid but it was a simple way to get out of the detention centre and it was just so crazy that it might even work.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” she snatched the blaster from Luke’s hands, ignoring his whine of outrage, and shot several times until the garbage shoot’s doors fell away.

“You cannot be serious,” Rex paused in his shooting, still looking disbelieving despite the helmet on his face. He pulled out a comlink, yelling quickly down it. “C-3PO is there any way out of the cell bay? We’ve been cut off!”

“I’m afraid all systems have been alerted to your presence, sir. The entrance seems to be the only way in and out of the detention centre.”

At Threepio’s words, Leia pointed at the trash compactor entrance with her eyebrows raised. “Must I always be the one to save our skins?” She turned to Luke with a teasing smirk. “Into the garbage shoot, flyboy."

Luke shot his sister a look. “I think it should be ladies first.”

Continuing to shoot at the Stormtroopers as she crossed the corridor, Leia didn’t pause before throwing the blaster back at Luke and diving into the garbage shoot. Rex watched her go, ducking to avoid being shot at. His injury from leaving the Rebel base was slowly healing but it would do no good to get shot again.

“I haven’t seen such crazy tactics since the day of your father, kid,” Rex scoffed, tilting his head in the direction Leia had disappeared. “You go, I’ll flank you.”

As Luke dove down the garbage shoot, Rex on his tail, he sincerely hoped that it was crazy enough to work.

* * *

Vader continued to pace in his quarters, wondering what it was that he could say to his daughter to make her see sense. It wasn’t her fault that she’d been indoctrinated by the Rebellion and been fed Organa’s lies for the past six years but when Vader brought her back to Coruscant, she’d need to be a loyal member of the Empire in order to save her from Palpatine’s wrath.

He knew from their brief argument and past stories Tarkin had told, that the former Princess was strong-willed and stubborn. His daughter was too much like him in some respects and Vader would have to choose his words carefully if he wanted her support and allegiance.

Palpatine was already wary of her and Vader knew his Master would prefer the girl dead. He had to tread carefully in order to avoid that at all costs— no way would he allow for his child to die mere days after he discovered her.

And two was stronger than one; it would be best to have both his children at his side when they fought Sidious in order to win.

Perhaps if he started off with an apology for the near-fatal choking, his daughter would be more welcoming towards him? He needed to gain her trust and he knew from past experience that she had little for him.

She already knew the truth about their relationship— so he was saved from that unpleasant conversation. But he needed to undo the lies Organa and Kenobi had spread about him in order to truly accept her parentage. He knew from her relationship with his son that family obviously meant a lot to Leia and Vader intended to use that to his advantage—

A sudden tremble in the Force made Vader pause. Something was wrong; something was out of place. His comlink crackled and before he’d even answered it, Vader knew what the Lieutenant on the other line was going to say.

“Lord Vader, sir! There’s been a breach in cell block AA-23! A suspected Rebel attack!”

Anger coursed through his veins— of course the Rebels would come back to steal his daughter from him yet again. No doubt they saw her potential as he did and wished to continue feeding her lies so they could pit his own flesh and blood against him. Just like Obi-Wan had turned Padme against him, the Rebellion would turn his child against him too.

“The Princess?”

“Gone, sir! But we are sending out troops, ack—“ The Lieutenant’s voice faded away as a mumbled choking sound filled the comm. It didn’t matter about the distance between them, Vader used the Force to let out his anger and only when the comlink went silent did he feel slightly appeased.

This Rebel attack was of no consequence, they were vastly outnumbered and Vader’s daughter was still close enough to be in his grasp. He reached out, trying to sense Leia’s presence somewhere in the space station when he felt something as equally bright and familiar to him.

 _Luke_.

No matter how much his son was attempting to shield from him, Vader could sense the boy as if he were a part of his own self. Their Force connection, slightly muffled from the weeks of separation, still burned as bright and Vader knew it better than he knew the back of his metallic hand.

 _‘Luke,’_ he reached out with the Force to call to his son. He could sense Luke acknowledged it but as infuriating as always, the boy refused to respond. _‘Son— you need not run from me; return with your sister and all will be okay.’_

A flash of surprise flitted across their slightly muffled bond and Vader knew that it was news to Luke that his father had discovered the secret he’d hidden from him. All those years that they’d been father and son in every sense of the phrase, Luke had never mentioned Leia. He’d been just as involved in hiding Vader’s daughter from him as the Jedi had been. And whilst it made Vader mad, he was willing to ignore that fact if it brought his children back to him now.

 _‘Luke!’_ Vader called again, trying to instil his parentage dominance but once again, his son ignored him. He found his frustration increasing as he marched out of his quarters to go on a physical search for his children.

Soon, for the first time in his life, he would have both his son and daughter in his clutches. His dream for a Galactic take-over was so close that Vader felt as if he could reach out and touch it. With Luke and Leia by his side, they’d be invincible; there would be nothing they couldn’t—

Another presence in the Force made Vader pause. This one was hidden better but not completely, as if they actually wanted to be found. It burned as brightly and there was something familiar about it that made Vader feel as if he’d sensed it before.

No doubt it was a distraction to take the attention away from his twins. Whoever the Jedi scum was, they were setting themselves up for bait. _Interesting_.

It was tempting to ignore whoever the Order 66 survivor was— Vader knew that whoever it was had less brains than sense and if he didn’t kill them today, he was sure they’d be dead in the near future. But the presence did feel so oddly familiar that he couldn’t help but dig a little more, searching for recognition on who the Jedi that’d managed to evade him so long could be.

 _Ah_ , Vader realised when he came to the source. _So the apprentice lives_.


	25. A Rather Nasty Shock

Leia crinkled up her nose as the smell of sewage followed them despite having escaped the trash compactor. In hindsight, blasting the opening to the garbage shoot and diving headfirst in a means of escape hadn’t been the brightest idea. But considering they’d been getting shot at by troopers, it had seemed like the best option at the time.

As Leia fixed her hair, she was not unaware that her crazy plan had almost killed them all.

“Jump into the trash compactor, she said,” Luke carried on mumbling under his breath as he pulled off the Stormtrooper armour now soaking in sewage water. “It’ll be alright, she said!”

Leia sighed, knowing it would be a long time before he let this one go. The trash compactor idea had been terrible— Leia couldn’t deny that. Between the facts of the walls having closed in on them, only stopping seconds before they’d been turned into pancakes when Threepio had finally found the right switch to help, and Luke being pulled underneath the water by a weird octopus type creature, it had been nothing short of a nightmare.

But they were alive and in all honesty, Leia found Luke’s mumbled whiny rather annoying.

“Did we die?” Leia shot back at him, trying to wring the sewage water out of her trouser legs. They were all covered in the disgusting mess but Luke seemed worse off since he’d been pulled underneath. His hair was wet and even though he’d been wearing the armour, his tunic underneath was damp. The only one looking less phased from the incident was Rex— he didn’t even seem disgusted by the smell.

“We nearly did!”

“But did we?” Leia’s voice raised as their argument continued on. Luke opened his mouth to retaliate, running his hand through his hair to try and get rid of any gunk left, when Rex interrupted with a growl.

“Shut it! Are you asking to be heard? Keep the theatrics to a low so we actually have a chance of getting out of here alive,” Rex snapped at them as he threw the Stormtrooper armour he’d been wearing to the ground.

Leia nodded, knowing he had a point. The time for childish silliness could wait. “What’s the plan for escape Rex?”

“We need to get back to the ship.”

“We need Artoo and Threepio first,” Luke argued. “We left them in a control room. We can see if the tractor beam has been disabled yet— there’s no point attempting to leave if that’s still functioning.”

Leia pointed ahead of her, “Lead the way then.”

They had just rounded the corner when a sudden blast hit the wall beside them, causing all three of them to jump. Rex had his blaster raised in seconds, shooting back at the Stormtroopers now appearing, his superior shooting doing wonders. Luke passed the blaster he’d been holding to Leia, allowing her to join in with Rex as they ducked and shot, before pulling out his father’s lightsaber.

The blue blade lit up brilliantly and Luke deflected every blaster bolt coming their way.

“Good job kid,” Rex patted Luke’s shoulder with a proud smile. “Now let's go.”

“Wait,” Luke paused, giving Rex a sincere look. “Leia and I will go find Artoo and Threepio. You go find Ahsoka.”

“Ahsoka’s here?” Leia butted in, her words going ignored.

“Kid, I promised ‘Soka that I would look after you. And I ain’t about to break my promise. I’m a soldier, I follow orders.”

“You’re more than just a soldier Rex,” Leia sounded hurt at his words. “You’re a person and Ahsoka means a lot to you— you should go find her.”

“But I need to stay with you,” Rex frowned. There was something conflicted in his eyes as he spoke. After three years of war, he’d lost many brothers. And then with Order 66, he’d lost everyone else, par a fair few. He loved Ahsoka like a little sister but he was not new to the pain of loss and Rex knew Ahsoka would prefer him here, with the twins, than running off after her.

“We’ll be fine,” Luke argued, raising his father’s lightsaber as if that proved the point. He’d almost left the weapon in Artoo’s dome but Ahsoka had told him to always carry it with him— _this weapon is your life,_ she’d said. “Leia and I can handle ourselves.”

Rex scoffed at his words. “You two find trouble like a moth to the flame. If that’s your argument of defence, it isn’t working."

“But we _can_ handle ourselves— trouble or not,” Luke pointed out.

“Rex, you’ve lost a lot of people and I don’t want Ahsoka to be one of them,” Leia’s voice wobbled slightly. “We care for her too; I know you’re worried about her, I can sense it.”

“You two are more important—“

“No life is worth more than another,” Luke cut in. “I know what Ahsoka said but she’s wrong.”

Rex closed his eyes for a second, knowing he was slowly losing the fight inside his own mind. He’d fought by Ahsoka’s side for a very long time, ever since she’d been a youngling to now, and he knew she could handle herself. General Skywalker had taught her how to survive and she’d always been strong— but some fights were not made to be done alone.

She was setting herself up as bait to the Sith and Rex, whilst he was familiar with grief, truly didn’t want to add her to the list of people he mourned. Losing his brothers and Anakin had been enough, he didn’t want to lose his only sister too.

“Fine,” Rex conceded. “I’ll go find Ahsoka whilst you get the droids. I know you Skywalker’s like to test the odds but don’t do anything too reckless, for my sake alright?”

Leia scoffed, waving a hand in a dramatic way. “Reckless? Us? No way!”

“I’m being serious,” Rex frowned. “Ahsoka’s going to have my head anyway for leaving you both, I don’t want to add an injury on top of that. Then she really will kill me.”

“We promise to be careful,” Luke spoke before his sister could, giving Rex his most sincere face. “You be careful too.”

Leia closed her eyes for a second, searching for Ahsoka, “Ahsoka’s in the South-West region of this space station. We’ll see you soon Rex."

“Keep your comlinks on and if there’s any problems, you let me know!” Rex pointed at them as he started down the corridor, heading off to find his friend.

“Will do!” Leia watched him go before turning to her brother. “Let’s go.”

“Following you all the way, Princess Leia.”

* * *

Disabling the tractor beam had been easy. Far easier than Ahsoka had expected it to be, which left her with more time on her hands than she’d expected. By now, Luke and Rex should’ve freed Leia from her cell and be making their ways to the hangar. She knew she should be heading there too but Vader was on this base and Ahsoka knew he’d be following after the twins if he sensed them.

And there was no way she was letting Anakin’s kids get into the hands of the Sith.

So she trailed the base, using the Force to stay out of sight, and kept her presence open enough for the Sith to sense. Considering her training had been near-completion, she resembled a Jedi far more than either Luke and Leia. Ahsoka hoped that for that reason alone, Vader would target her instead of the twins.

It wasn’t as if she was attempting to sacrifice her life— no, Ahsoka wasn’t going into this with the plan to lay down her life. She’d only just found out about the twins: there was so much she wanted to teach them and so much she needed to tell them about their parents.

But this distraction was necessary to draw attention away from Luke and Leia so they had a chance to escape.

Anakin would’ve done it for her so Ahsoka would do it for his children.

In her life, Ahsoka had fought Sith before. Their cold presence and dark auras were not something new to her but there was something about Vader that seemed so unnerving. There was something familiar about him as she sensed him getting closer and closer. Like she’d met him before but his Force presence was so twisted by the Dark Side that she couldn’t even recognise the man he’d been.

From what she’d heard from whispers around the Galaxy, Vader used to be a Jedi. He used to be a Jedi Knight who’d fought in the Clone Wars before he’d become a Sith and destroyed the supposed threat that the Jedi had been. It was entirely possible that Ahsoka had known Vader before his turning and it was even possible that they’d been friends. Perhaps they’d trained together? Or been in the same youngling class? Or maybe they’d been on the same mission once, completely obvious to the dark future ahead.

But for the life of her, Ahsoka couldn’t think of who Vader could’ve been. Nobody she’d ever come into contact with in her life as a Jedi would she have thought capable of such horrific acts.

(Although, Ahsoka would admit she wasn’t the best judge of character given she’d been friends with Barriss Offee and betrayed by the girl in an event that had changed her life).

Ahsoka was no stranger to Darth Vader; she’d never met him in person before nor attempted any sort of contact but she’d seen enough on the Holonet to know he was one of the most dangerous Sith Lords to have ever lived.

But as Vader’s menacing figure rounded the corner to stand a few metres away from her, Ahsoka thought that the Holonet didn’t do him justice.

Darth Vader was terrifying. Over six feet tall with metal limbs and a heavy mask over his face, every inch of the man screamed danger. His respirator was loud and harsh, making a shiver run down Ahsoka’s spine.He ignited his red lightsaber without any hesitation and when he spoke, his voice was modified to sound deep and intimidating. “So it is true . . . Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice lives.”

A growl rumbled deep in Ahsoka’s thought. “Don’t you dare speak of my Master.”

“You were foolish to come here,” Vader continued as if he hadn’t heard her speak. “Like Master, like apprentice.”

“You dare speak ill of Anakin!” Ahsoka glared at the Sith before her, wondering if it was possible to hate someone so much. She hadn’t been there at the Jedi Temple when Order 66 had been declared but she knew Anakin hadn’t survived the fray. It wasn’t confirmed but Ahsoka believed the monster before her to have been her brother’s killer. “He was triple the man you claim to be!”

“I do not claim to be a man. I know what I am.” Vader’s words sent a chill over Ahsoka and she tightened her grip on her double lightsabers. The time for a fight was brewing, she could sense it in her bones.

“There was no one like my Master,” Ahsoka snarled. “Answer me this: did you kill him?”

Vader’s voice was booming. “Skywalker was weak! He was a fool! Arrogant! Pathetic! His death was a mercy killing for something greater.”

Fire raged in Ahsoka’s bones and for a second she saw an image of Anakin in her mind’s eye. He looked just like she remembered from their last meeting: young, with shoulder-length hair and blue eyes as bright as the sun. He was looking back at her with a small smile on his face, completely unaware that they would never see each other after this parting.

_Anakin! Good luck._

“So you did kill him?” Ahsoka felt like she’d been punched when that happy image of Anakin faded away to a conjured nightmare of him in pain, a lightsaber going through his chest as Vader stood towering over him.

“I destroyed Skywalker, yes.”

Ahsoka grit her teeth, feeling the rage burn in the pit of her stomach. “Then I shall avenge his death.”

“A Jedi should not seek revenge.”

“I am no Jedi.”

Without hesitating, Ahsoka raced forward, her lightsabers igniting in sync as she attacked the Sith. Their blades clashed and Ahsoka felt her emotions push her forward, projecting all her pain into winning this battle.

She would do it for Anakin.

* * *

“Oh Master Luke! And Mistress Leia! You’re alive! Thank the Maker!” Threepio exclaimed as the twins walked into the control room where the droids had been hiding out. Neither Luke nor Leia heard him for they were still engaged in an argument from a few minutes earlier.

“All I’m saying is that it won’t kill you to say thank you every now and then,” Luke grumbled.

“Oh Luke thank you!” Leia spoke with much sarcasm. “Thank you for taking us down to the dead-end where we were almost killed!”

“I got us out of that mess!”

“You also blew up the control pad so we couldn’t extend the bridge!”

“Blowing up the control pad was the only way to lock the doors so the troopers didn’t shoot us!”

“And yet we were still shot at by troopers on a higher ledge!”

Luke pulled a face, glaring at his sister. “Hey, it was my smart idea to use the grappling hook to swing us to safety!”

“And you nearly dropped me halfway!” Leia shot back, crossing her arms.

“But I didn’t!”

Leia opened her mouth to argue once again when Artoo rolled forward, bumping into her legs with glee. He whistled happily, making Leia pause and chuckle as she patted his dome. “It’s good to see you too Artoo.”

It had only been a few weeks since Artoo and Threepio had come into their lives but Leia honestly couldn’t picture life without them.

“Hey Artoo,” Luke called out as he took a seat in front of one of the computers. “Do you mind plugging in for me?” The droid beeped loudly as he complied, rolling over to Luke and attaching himself to the computer. Words appeared on the screen when Artoo beeped again.

_What are we looking for?_

“We need to check that Ahsoka disabled the tractor beam,” Luke replied, tapping a few keys on the computer as Artoo went in search for the information.

Artoo whistled again. _It’ll take a second. Hang on._

Leia sat down beside her brother, feeling slightly awkward in the silence as they waited. With nothing but her thoughts to occupy her and no impending danger making her irate, Leia started to feel guilt at her slightly harsh attitude.

It wasn’t lost on her that only yesterday she’d been clutching at her throat, believing she would never see her brother again. In those moments when the inability to breathe had become too much and the dark spots in her vision had threatened to swallow her hole, Leia had thought only of Luke and how she couldn’t let herself die for it would devastate him. If Luke died, Leia would be heart-broken and she would never wish that upon her twin.

When she’d believed to be near death, Leia had thought about how she’d never been given the chance to apologise to Luke for her hurtful comments on Dantooine. Her hot-headed temper had struck once more and Leia had been filled with remorse to think that could’ve been one of their final conversations.

It could’ve been an argument never solved.

But Leia wasn’t dead; Vader’s grip on her throat had ceased and she here she was, beside Luke with all the ability in the Galaxy to tell him how she really felt.

“I’m sorry.”

Luke did a double-take. “What was that?”

Apologising was never really Leia’s forte, although she was the one who should have the most practice with it. There was something so vulnerable about saying you’re sorry— you were admitting to your guilt and reaching out to make amends— and being vulnerable was not something Leia often felt comfortable with. A lump raised in her throat but she powered on through.

This was Luke and he deserved her apology. And if she couldn’t let her guard down with her twin, then who could she?

“I said some foul things to you on Dantooine,” Leia looked down at her hands in her lap, ignoring Artoo’s beeps as he continued to search the computer for the tractor beam diagnostics. “Things that I hope you know I didn’t mean.”

_It's no wonder that I was adopted by Royalty whilst Luke was dumped on a backwater planet._

Leia squeezed her eyes tight, trying to push the callous words from her mind. What she’d said had truly been unforgivable and whilst she knew Luke would forgive her anyway (simply because that was who he was), she wanted to actually earn that forgiveness.

“There’s no justification for it; I got angry and I lashed out, pure and simple. I’m sure you know the drill by now. But I am sorry Luke, you’re my brother and I shouldn’t have tried to hurt you in such a way.”

When Leia opened her eyes, looking towards her brother, there was a slightly confused look on his face. “Do you think I even care about that anymore?” He asked. “Leia, you pushed me out of the way of a stun blast that had been aimed at me! You were kidnapped by an Imperial spy and made prisoner of the Empire. For a terrible short time, I thought you were going to die. I don’t care about what argument we had a few days ago.”

“It still matters though,” Leia pressed. “When things seemed really bleak here, I kept on thinking about how one of our last conversations was an argument that was left unsolved. I didn’t want that to be the way you remembered me by.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Leia, I would never remember you that way nor hold that against you. If things had been different— which they’re not so this whole conversation is pointless— I would’ve remembered you as my sister: as the good and the bad all rolled into one because its both of those sides that make you who you are. And I love you.”

Leia looked down at her lap, wondering if she got let off easy. “You’re too forgiving.”

“I don’t think anyone can be _too_ forgiving—“

“You’d already forgiven me before I even finished my apology.”

Luke shook his head, “I don’t see it as a fault to be so easily forgiving, Leia. I know you— I know that you regretted your words the moment you said them and then you pushed me out of the way of a stun blast, which is a pretty big apology without any words, in my eyes.”

Leia looked up at her brother, feeling slightly jealous at how easily he could forgive. They were like two sides of the same coin but where Leia looked at the Galaxy more pessimistically, Luke looked at it with optimism. Or maybe it was more the case of Leia being a realist and Luke being a dreamer.

But her brother saw the good in people before he saw anything else. He held onto the hope that the good came first and he forgave so easily because he believed in second, third and fourth chances.

And whilst Leia wanted to share that with him, she knew that sometimes the bad reigned supreme. After all, she’d stood in that view-port and watched as Alderaan blew up. And the men who’d pressed the button and given the command had just stood back with smug smiles on their faces whilst trillions of innocents had been erased from existence.

“You would’ve done the same for me,” Leia said finally.

Luke shrugged. “Well, I am here, aren’t I?”

Artoo’s beep broke into their conversation. _I found it! Tractor beam is disabled._

“Great work Ahsoka,” Luke smirked, attempting to move out of his seat. “Right, let’s go before the troopers get the chance to follow us. We can fire up the ship whilst we wait for Rex and ‘Soka.”

“Wait,” Leia paused, looking at the computer screen intently. She pointed to something that looked encrypted. “Artoo what’s that?” Something in the Force called her to it, telling her to look further.

Artoo whistled. _Its an encrypted file, I can’t see what its inside it._

“Do you think you can unlock it?"

“Leia,” Luke seemed impatient. “We don’t have time!”

“I agree with Master Luke,” Threepio stressed, waving his golden arms up and down. “I would very much like to get off this deadly thing as soon as possible!”

Leia ignored them, looking down at the astromech droid. “Well, Artoo: do you think you can?”

There was a pause before Artoo beeped in a long string of sounds. _It will take a while but . . . I think so._

“Then do it.” Artoo whistled in confirmation.

“Leia! We don’t have time!”

“There’s something important in that file, Luke,” Leia argued back. She hoped he could see the sincerity in her eyes. “I know there is.” Her brother hesitated a moment before he sighed and sat back down.

“This better be worth it."

* * *

Ahsoka found the duel between herself and Vader taxing. The Sith fought like no other: aggressive and yet calculated in his movements. But Ahsoka had agility and speed on her side, being able to dodge Vader’s blows in ways his mechanical legs would not allow. So she used all of that to her advantage, remembering Anakin’s words to size up her opponent and never let her guard down.

As their lightsabers clashed for the millionth time, Vader made a noise that sounded like a jarred sneer. “You are weak, young apprentice. Your training was not finished and it shows.”

“I’m holding my own against you, am I not?” Ahsoka shot back, jumping back to avoid a rather aggressive blow he shot towards her. She flipped over with perfect grace, swinging her double lightsabers around before charging at him once more.

“Not for very much longer.”

“How you could’ve beat my Master, I do not know,” Ahsoka admitted as she ducked from his blade. She hit out but he met her parr with ease. The sound of lightsabers clashing sounded through the corridor, the light illumining around them.

Vader used the Force to push her backwards to try and make her footing fall before hitting out with another aggressive strike. “Skywalker was not as great as you think.”

Ahsoka bared her teeth, pushing forwards and swinging her lightsabers around so they made an ‘X’ shape. “He was better!”

“Anakin Skywalker was flawed! He was controlled by his fears!”

“And your not? Fear is a path to the Dark Side, if I’m not mistaken.”

Ahsoka kicked out with her feet but the metal of Vader’s legs refused to tumble and he threw a blow at her once more. The end of his lightsaber burned her forearm as she tried to dodge it, her skin sizzling from the contact. A hiss escaped Ahsoka’s lips but she didn’t fault as she attacked him once more.

“There were a great many things you did not know about your Master.”

Ahsoka felt angry at his statement. “And what? You knew him better than I? If you truly knew Anakin Skywalker, you would not call him weak nor a fool! My Master was the strongest of them all and he fought with both bravery and compassion.”

“That is what you wanted to see. But that was not the man you knew,” Vader’s blade missed Ahsoka’s leg by mere inches, moving in one circular motion to clash with her twin white blades.

They moved almost in-sync, their blades hitting the other in perfect formation as if they were practicing a dance they’d both done before. Every strike Ahsoka attempted was met by Vader and each violent blow he threw at her felt like second nature to dodge. Their duel felt familiar and yet Ahsoka had no idea as to why.

It was just when Ahsoka attempted a move that her Master had taught her decades ago, twisting around with all the agility her nimble body could provide, that something truly started to feel wrong in her gut. Vader seemed to know the exact counter-move to parr her strike and he met her attack with ease as if he’d seen it coming.

Confusion ebbed inside of Ahsoka as they continued to fight, their attacks feeling too in-sync to be coincidental. “Who are you?” She hissed, jumping back slightly to avoid another violent strike.

“That is of no consequence to you,” Vader shot back, his red blade clashing hard against Ahsoka’s two white ones.

She used the Force to push him back, swinging her lightsabers around to try and attack whilst he was off his footing. But Vader met the blow easily and he used his brute strength to push her back. The move was almost too familiar, like Ahsoka had seen it be done a million times. His entire fighting style hit too close to home and Ahsoka found herself wondering who was behind that mask.

When Ahsoka reached out with the Force to try and uncover the mystery of who the Sith was or had been, she was met with something cold. His presence was like ice, chilling and bleak to touch but underneath all the darkness there was something familiar. A faint hint of something from her past; it didn’t burn as brightly as she remembered nor did it feel whole— it was more an echo, a ghost of what had been that still existed ever so slightly under the surface.

Ahsoka almost dropped her lightsabers, a look of horror coming across her face as she mouthed the word “ _no_ ” over and over again. It couldn’t be! It simply couldn’t be true!

But the Force responded to her horror, whispering the truth she didn’t want to believe.

Standing before her, every inch a monster, was her former Master: Anakin Skywalker.

* * *

The control room was quiet as Artoo worked through the encrypted file, save for a few beeps the astromech droid let out every now and then. Threepio was pacing back and forth in the corner, mumbling to himself about how they were all going die if they didn’t leave soon and from the way Luke had his eyes closed, Leia guessed he was using the Force to sense if any troopers were coming their way.

Or worse: Vader.

At the thought of that monster, a shiver ran down Leia’s spine and she recalled their last moments together before he’d turned on his heel and left her to gasp in air in the darkness of her cell. Leia thought of how her head had spun after his grip on her neck had released and how she’d spluttered for ages, the feeling of impending death still looming over her.

Leia could still feel the terror in the pit of her stomach and the way her heart had spiked when the air had originally left her lungs. It had been like getting an electric shock, her brain being unable to comprehend why she’d suddenly lost the ability to breathe. And she could still feel the pressure behind her eyes, like pinpricks, as the oxygen in her brain had depleted.

It had been a horrifying experience and it had all happened at the hands of the monster who dared share her blood.

Ahsoka had once said that there had been no one like Anakin Skywalker: he’d been brave and he’d cared deeply about those around him. If what Vader had done to her didn’t show that the man he used to be was dead, then Leia didn’t know what would.

“I told Vader the truth,” Leia admitted, unable to stand the quiet for much longer. Luke’s eyes opened in a flurry but he didn’t look that shocked when he stared at her. She rolled her eyes, putting the pieces together. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

“He reached out to me when were in the trash compactor. I didn’t reply but he told me that he knew. He asked for us to come back.”

Leia scoffed, turning her head to the side. “And were you tempted?”

“No,” Luke admitted before pausing. “Well, maybe. But what he wants isn’t what I want.”

“What he wants is for you to sell your soul,” Leia hissed. She thought about her conversation with Vader and how he’d been happy to push Luke down a path of darkness that would only corrupt and kill him.

“I’m sure that’s what he wants for us both now,” Luke sighed. His words sent a shiver down Leia’s spine, thinking of how all the horrible things Vader had said about Luke’s destiny could now be applied to her as well. The thought of being used as a pawn of darkness to take down Palpatine and reign control of the Empire made her feel nauseas.

Leia swallowed down bile as she thought of how cold Vader had felt in her mind. “How you can still see that monster as our father, I don’t know.”

“Do you really want to get into another argument Leia? We keep going round in circles on this! I see the good in him— I’ve felt it! I know our true father is in there somewhere and he’s trying to get out! For us!”

“There is nothing but darkness in that hollow shell of a man!” Leia hissed. She could feel Vader’s fist clamping down on her shoulder, squeezing tight as a green glow of a laser suddenly blinded her. Leia blinked, feeling enraged further. “He’s a monster who would sell us to darkness for his own personal gain! You know this! Yet you try to ignore it— blindly following the belief that Anakin is alive inside that monster.”

“I’ve felt it Leia—“

“Why, because one time when you were sick he did the bare minimum? What about all those times he left you alone whilst he gallivanted around the Galaxy, slaughtering hundreds because they dared speak out against the Empire? Or what about that time he killed a Lieutenant in front of you? Correct me if I’m wrong but purposely traumatising your child isn’t something you do if you actually care for them.”

Luke opened his mouth to argue back when he noticed how there was pain behind Leia’s eyes. Her hand was subconsciously raised to her throat and when Luke looked hard enough, he could see the faint scratches on her neck as if she’d clawed it herself. A wave of nausea filled his stomach and Luke honestly felt like he might gag when the realisation settled in.

“He hurt you.”

Leia looked away but she didn’t deny it.

“I’m so sorry Leia, he shouldn’t have done that—“

“I’m not special compared to the countless others that have suffered the same treatment,” she hissed quietly.

Luke reached out, placing his hand on Leia’s shoulder. Unlike Vader’s grip, Luke’s was warm and comforting. Although he didn’t say it, Luke knew why his sister was always so vehemently against their father: she so desperately wanted him to care in the way that Anakin would’ve cared but she didn’t think he was capable of it. There were days that Luke had felt the same but then something would happen and Vader would prove that he did care— even just a little.

“Don’t say that,” Luke said instead. “You are special and he shouldn’t have done what he did to you. There’s no excuse.”

Leia thought of Mustafar and how her mother had suffered the same treatment as she. She thought of how the rage Vader had felt in her cell had felt akin to the rage he’d felt on the lava planet, his hand outstretched in the same way to both his wife and daughter.

_There’s good in him— I know, I know there’s still . . ._

Until her dying breath, Leia’s mother had still believed in the man, even despite their violent end. She’d seen the good that had survived Palpatine’s twisting and she’d not believed the Dark Side had swallowed her husband completely. Leia wasn’t sure it was more due to her mother’s blind faith, much like Luke, or because it simply was the truth.

So maybe Luke wasn’t completely crazy to have seen some goodness in the man he considered their father still. Maybe he truly had felt it in those quiet moments when it had just been them and all outside factors had faded away. It didn’t excuse anything that Vader had done for Leia still held him accountable to all the horrors he’d committed but she did have to admit that the second he’d learnt the truth, he’d let her go.

Although whether he’d done it more from shock at finding out the Rebel Princess was his daughter or because he’d actually genuinely cared about her, Leia didn’t know.

And maybe it didn’t matter. She was alive now and whether that was because of biology or shock, she was still here to fight another day.

“How did he react?” Luke asked after a moment of silence. He’d imagined telling his father about Leia for over five years. So many times he had wandered into his father’s quarters with the sole intention of letting it all out and revealing the truth (because keeping secrets really wasn’t in his forte and he hated to lie). But every single time he’d gone to do it, he’d either chickened out or realised the stupidity of what he’d been about to do.

Revealing the truth would’ve meant their separation coming to an end. It would’ve meant being siblings in public and not just in private, just like when they’d been children. They could’ve been as close to a family as it was possible with a Sith Lord for a father.

But no matter how much Luke knew his sister had missed him in their time being apart, he also knew she never would’ve forgiven him if he’d told Vader the truth. Leia would’ve refused to accept him as her father and ultimately her life would’ve been hell, trapped in an Imperial prison that she couldn’t escape from because of biology.

And Luke knew that Leia would’ve still joined the Rebellion like she had as a Princess. But without Bail Organa helping to cover her tracks, she’d be working alone from the capital of the Empire as she smuggled information and put her life at risk. His reveal could’ve had disastrous effects.

But even though Luke knew hiding the truth had been the right thing to do, he still felt guilt at the fact he’d lied to his father. He wished that on some level he could’ve been the one to tell Vader the truth about the fact he had a sister, even if it had been only Leia’s place to say.

Leia shrugged. “He left and he didn’t come back.”

“He’s not, uh, good with emotional displays. I’m sure he was destroying his room to release any pent up feelings and then he would’ve come back and talked to you about it—“

Leia raised her hand, giving Luke a small smile. “You don’t need to justify his actions to me.”

Luke nodded, not knowing what else to say when suddenly Artoo beeped in a energetic way, his whistles echoing around the room. Threepio jumped (as much as a droid could jump), turning towards his friend with his hands waving up and down.

“Hush Artoo! Are you trying to get us killed! Oh my! If we never make it off this space station I don’t know what I’ll do!”

“Threepio, shh,” Luke rolled his eyes at the astromech droid before turning to Artoo. “Did you manage to unlock it?”

Artoo whistled loudly again as words appeared on the screen, followed by the encrypted file they’d been waiting for him to unlock. _It’s named Project Stardust and it looks like it could be plans._

“Plans?” Luke frowned, leaning forward in his seat as a black and white diagram of a circle appeared on the screen. It looked like a technical readout given the detailed numbers and letters surrounding the circle. “Plans of what?”

Leia gasped, the realisation hitting her like a wave of fresh air. Something gripped in her chest and she just _knew_ that these plans were of infinite value. “Its plans for this space station!” Her heart hammered in her chest at the sudden importance of this file. “Artoo, can you download it?”

Artoo whistled loudly, plugging into the computer again as a download symbol appeared on the screen. It seemed to move rather fast as Artoo stored the plans inside his memory. _You even had to ask?_

“Leia, we don’t have much time,” Luke frowned, closing his eyes for a second when he sensed troopers making their way down the corridor towards them. The doors to the control room were locked but he doubted they had very long before the Stormtroopers barged in. “Are you sure this is worth it?"

“Luke!” Leia’s eyes were wide as she pointed wildly to plans being downloaded on the screen. “That is a detailed plan for this killer space station. If we bring this to the Rebellion then they can search for faults and hopefully find a way to destroy this planet-murdering machine!”

Just then a loud bang sounded on the other side of the door. Both twins jumped as Threepio let out a robotic moan of “oh no we’re doomed!”

“Whoever is in there: open up!” The muffled voice of a Stormtrooper sounded from the other side.

“Hurry Artoo,” Leia whispered, her heart pounding in her chest when the troopers banked on the metal doors again. Her fingers started to shake with anticipation and she knew there was no way she was leaving this space station without those plans. The Death Star’s reveal had been made ahead of schedule and the Rebellion would need all they could to prevent what had happened to Alderaan, happening again.

Artoo beeped loudly, the download symbol getting closer and closer to the end. _Almost there!_

“Come out now with your hands up!” The Stormtroopers yelled once again. Luke stood up from his seat, pulling out his lightsaber when the sound of the door lock disabled. He slashed the controls with the blue blade, frying everything to stop the troopers barging on it.

“Hurry!” His voice raised an octave when the doors began to open manually, the troopers on the other side turning a lever so the doors opened inch by inch. “We’re about to have company!”

Leia felt the adrenaline rush through her bones as the download paused on the edge of completion. The door was halfway off the ground by now, raising up slowly but surely. _Come on, come on, come on,_ she whispered in her mind, willing it to download quicker.

A trooper ducked under the door when it was just over halfway open, firing several shots which Luke deflected. He raised his hand and used the Force to push the Stormtrooper back, the man hitting his head against the door and falling to the floor.

Then Artoo let out an ecstatic string of whistles, unplugging from the computer as the download showed to be complete.

“Its done!” Leia yelled, standing up to join her brother. “Now let's get out of here.”

The door to the control room opened fully, revealing several Stormtroopers on the other side. Whilst Luke swung their father’s lightsaber around to deflect the blasts, Leia gathered the Force and used it to push the bucket-heads back so they all fell to the floor. The entrance was clear and they wasted no time in running to the hangar where they prayed for a safe escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The confrontation is next :)


	26. Confrontation

Ahsoka felt like she was trapped in a nightmare. A terrible, never-ending nightmare that seemed to only consist of pain, pain and more pain. Her head span and it felt as if her entire hold on the Galaxy had been pulled from underneath her.

But she held her ground, refusing to let her guard fall down. Although she knew it to be true, Ahsoka simply couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Darth Vader— the kriffing Sith Lord who’d massacred so many— was actually her former Master.

“No,” Ahsoka mumbled for the millionth time. Nausea rolled around in her stomach and it felt as if her heart was being stabbed. “You can’t be him!” She yelled in vain for she knew the truth but the truth was too cold for her to actually want to admit out loud.

Every single memory that Ahsoka had of the man she considered her older brother didn’t correlate with the monster standing before her. Anakin had been kind, funny, protective and he’d cared so deeply for those he loved— but Vader was nothing but a cold shell of a man who wouldn’t hesitate to kill her.

_I will never let anyone hurt you, Ahsoka— never._

How could Anakin have fallen so far? Ahsoka thought of the bright-eyed, mischievous and daring young man she’d grown up beside. Anakin had been so full of hope, pushing everything he had into making change and fighting for an end to the war so the Galaxy could be filled with goodness once again. He’d been nothing but a kind man who’d teased her and Obi-Wan on the daily, laughing loudly when she retaliated and rolling his eyes when Master Kenobi made a sarcastic comment in rebuke.

That wasn’t to say that Anakin hadn’t had his faults. Looking back on it now, Ahsoka would admit her memories of her former Master were rose-tinted and warm. It was the good in him that she remembered and it was all the kind acts he’d done that she pushed to the forefront of her mind.

But Anakin really had been deeply flawed. There had been an anger inside him that had always seemed hungry, ready to devour anything and anyone with little remorse. He’d been too impulsive, to the point where he became dangerous and at times, he’d been driven by fear. In all the years Ahsoka had known him, Anakin had been terrified of loss: of losing her, of losing Obi-Wan and of losing Padme. It had consumed him at times.

Ahsoka thought back to the one of the missions they’d been on before the whole Jedi Order expulsion buisness, back when things had seemed normal and none of them had known what horrors the future held.They’d been on Kiros, searching for the lost Togruta colonists that the Zygerrian slave traders had stolen. Slavery had always been a sore spot for Anakin given his past but there had been something animalistic and brutal in his behaviour when they’d been trying to stop Darts D’Nar from escaping.

Looking back on it now, Ahsoka was sure that had she not called out for Anakin to pause, he would’ve killed the slaver with no remorse.

_I would never let anyone, hurt you, Ahsoka— never._

Yet despite all that, despite seeing the darkness Anakin had had raging inside him more clearly now, Ahsoka knew it didn’t matter. Faults or not, she had still loved Anakin. He’d been her brother in so many ways and his occasional dark attitude did not outweigh the kindness he’d shown her and others.

To Ahsoka, Anakin had been the one who’d sat beside her med-bed when she’d been injured. He’d been the one to believe in her when she hadn’t believed in herself. He’d put on a brave face on many occasions so she wouldn’t feel scared when going into battle and he’d put himself in harms way in order to protect her countless times.

They’d been a team and Ahsoka had looked up to him as the brother she’d always wanted.

_They’re asking you back Ahsoka . . . I’m asking you back._

_I’m sorry, Master, but I’m not coming back._

Anakin had never lost faith in her, not even when the rest of the Jedi Order had turned their backs on her. Throughout everything, Ahsoka had known she could count on Anakin and she just couldn’t see how the man with the bright smile and unwavering belief could turn into someone so horrifyingly vile.

“How could you?” Her voice shook as she hissed. There was anger in her words and she wasn’t sure if it was because she was angry at him for what he’d become or because she was angry at herself for not being there to stop it. “How could you do this— _become_ _this_?"

“The Dark Side is a path few walk but it is a path to greater grower.” Vader spoke with no emotion. His blade was raised as their duel paused, the red glow of his weapon illuminating one side of his mask in a menacing way. With the lightsaber so close to his face, Ahsoka tried to see the eye behind the soulless black circles but she couldn’t see anything.

“That isn’t true,” she ground the words out, feeling her hands start to shake. From horror, fear or anger, she didn’t know. “The Dark Side is not stronger! Its more seducing and all-consuming but it is not more powerful!”

“And yet,” Vader’s respirator did not skip for a second, his words seemed collected and wise despite the evil sentiment behind them. “Here I stand, a wielder of the Dark Side. And those who once bowed to the Light are no more.”

“Because you betrayed them! You killed your own friends Anakin!”

“That name no longer has any meaning to me!”

“How can your _own name_ no longer have any meaning to you?” Ahsoka felt distraught, wondering where all of this could’ve come from. The last time she’d seen Anakin he’d been in good spirts, slightly run-down from the war but happy to see her and excited for the possibility to catch up. The last memory she had of him was him walking away, a small smile on his face as he looked back at her.

_Anakin, good luck._

How could he go from that to _this_? What had happened in those ten days since she’d seen him and the Republic had fell? Maul had said that Anakin was the key to the destruction but, like now, Ahsoka still couldn’t fit the puzzle together on how a bright and smart man could be twisted into something so horrible.

“It is the name of a weaker version of myself. I am and always have been Darth Vader.”

“That is not true!” Ahsoka shot back. “It was not Darth Vader who taught me everything I know! It was not Darth Vader who talked me through every nightmare! It was not Darth Vader who stopped at nothing to clear my name! A Sith cannot love and I _know_ that Anakin loved me.”

“Skywalker was foolish; it was his attachments that were the end of him. His only great achievement was dying so that I could be born in his place!”

With every new thing Vader said, Ahsoka found herself feeling more lost. It was like a puzzle with pieces missing, she simply couldn’t put it together and no matter how hard she tried, there were blank spaces she couldn’t make up.

“What happened to you?” Ahsoka’s voice was quiet, like she was afraid of getting the answer.

“I fulfilled my destiny.”

“No!” Ahsoka was suddenly enraged, pointing one of her lightsabers at the Sith. There was enough distance between them for it to do nothing but be used as a means of pointing. “Anakin’s destiny was to bring balance to the Force. Not to _destroy_ everything!” She paused for a second, feeling like she’d been punched in the chest. “Do you not even feel any remorse? You killed so many of your friends! Did you— did you kill Obi-Wan too?”

If Vader revealed that Master Kenobi had died at his hands then Ahsoka would able to realise that Anakin truly was dead. For under three years she had been by Anakin and Obi-Wan’s side, watching first hand as they bickered and teased the other to no end. She’d seen every caring gaze Obi-Wan had sent Anakin behind the latter’s back and she’d felt their mutual respect and love for the other through the Force.

No one had ever spoken about how they felt but Ahsoka had known that they’d been as close as brothers. They’d been best friends in battle and sometimes Ahsoka had marvelled at just how in-sync they’d been, like they knew each other in and out.

Anakin had once admitted, albeit a little injured and on medication, that Obi-Wan was the closest thing he’d ever had to a father but that he didn’t believe Obi-Wan shared that sentiment. But then Anakin hadn’t seen how Obi-Wan had fussed over his unconscious form, asking Kix, the healer, repeatedly whether Anakin would be okay and rearranging his blankets every five minutes. Ahsoka had watched as the normally so put-together Master had nearly torn his hair out from worry and she’d just known that those sentiments were shared.

To have killed Obi-Wan meant any last parts of Anakin would have died as well.

“Did you?” Ahsoka pressed.

Vader didn’t reply for a second, his breathing loud and stark in the corridor. A shiver ran down Ahsoka’s spine and she got the feeling that whatever the answer was, yes or no, she wouldn’t like it.

“That man stole everything from me, including my body. I was not strong enough to defeat him then but I will be strong enough now.”

Ahsoka sucked in a breath, staring at the Sith with new eyes. There had been the nagging question in her mind ever since she’d discovered Anakin’s identity of how he’d come to be so injured but the answer was beyond comprehension. Obi-Wan?

And with that, Ahsoka knew that Anakin must truly not be alive behind that mask if the man who’d loved him most had been able to hurt him so. Obi-Wan would have rather run himself through with his blade than hurt his former apprentice so to leave him so horribly disfigured meant he truly believed Anakin had died. Vader’s suit was Obi-Wan’s revenge for his apprentice’s death.

“He should’ve killed you for what you did to Anakin,” Ahsoka hissed.

“I believed you would say as such. Kenobi betrayed me, it makes sense that my former apprentice would betray me too.”

“Betray you? When have I ever betrayed you? Anakin,” Ahsoka gathered the words, swallowing the lump in her throat. “I loved you! You were my big brother!”

Vader made a sound that resembled a growl, his lightsaber pointing out towards her. “And yet, just like Kenobi, you attempt to steal my children from me.”

At his mention of Luke and Leia, Ahsoka’s blood turned to ice. At first she felt horror. Then anger. And then outrage. “You dare to claim them?” She raged, frowning heavily. At times like now, she was pleased to no longer be a Jedi. Her anger was not something she feared anymore and she knew how to use it without letting in darkness. “They are not yours to claim!”

“They were born to me!”

“They’re Anakin’s! And they’re Padme’s! They are not _yours_! You’re too vile to be their true father!”

“They were born in a time where I reigned supreme. Skywalker was already dead by the time they graced the Galaxy. They are the flesh of my flesh and I will _not_ let you take them from me! Not again!”

Ahsoka brandished her weapons with a new sense of motivation. Where before she’d been fighting to avenge her Master, now she fought to protect Anakin’s children. No matter what this Sith said, Luke and Leia were not his to claim. How could somebody so evil believe they have a right over such amazing and bright children?

She thought of Luke’s smile and how he looked so much like Padme when he laughed and she thought of Leia’s eye-roll and how Ahsoka had seen Anakin pull the same face a million times before. Leia’s determination came straight from her father and Luke’s eyes were like Anakin’s had been cloned. There was no way those twins weren’t Anakin’s children— there was not a trace of Vader in their bright presences and good hearts.

And Ahsoka would do anything— fight anyone— in order to keep them safe.

“I will not let you near them,” she spoke calmly, raising her weapons.

“Then you will die.”

The fight that ensued was more taxing than the first. With the twins’ lives on the line, both fought with more brute strength, doing all they could to win for they knew the price of losing was too great to pay. Ahsoka jumped and dodged each of his vicious blows and in return, Vader used his superior strength to meet all her well-timed pars.

Ahsoka kicked herself off the way, slashing with her lightsabers and twisting around when Vader met them with force, aiming his own blows back at her. It was a dance they’d done before in training but this time it was harsher. There was no friendly atmosphere and if one made a mistake, the other would not hesitate to cut them down.

Her footing slipped slightly as Vader used his blade, crashing into hers, to push her backwards and for a second, she thought she would tumble and leave herself vulnerable to sliced through.

But then the sudden sound of blaster fire filled the air, shots flying through the air aimed at Vader. They went straight past Ahsoka and Vader used his lightsaber to bat them away effortless, stepping back from pushing down on Ahsoka so she had time to right herself

“You alright, kid?” Rex’s voice was loud and clear as he continued to fire wildly at Vader but Ahsoka didn’t waste a glance at him. A little bit of annoyance grew in her chest at the fact he was here and not with Luke and Leia but then again, he did save her so Ahsoka knew she couldn’t be too harsh on him.

“I’ve been better,” she admitted before charging at Vader once more, their blades clashing together with brute force only. He used his free hand to bat away the blaster bolts coming his way and when Ahsoka stepped back to throw another blow with her twin blades, Vader pushed Rex into the wall so he was temporarily stopped.

“Give in now, apprentice, and I will consider sparing your life,” Vader hissed.

“You think I believe the words of a Sith?” Ahsoka shot back, her lightsabers forming an ‘X’ shape once again. “The Master you claim not to be taught me to never trust the words of a confirmed liar.”

Vader growled and his fighting become more aggressive, his blows becoming more and more vicious as he tried to push her back. Rex was back on his feet, firing shot after shot with Vader pushed away. One ricochet off the walls in Ahsoka’s direction but she dodged it at last second.

Time was running out, this Ahsoka knew. She had no idea where the twins were and distracting Vader for much longer would only have deadly consequences. Her breath as already shortening and whilst she could sense Vader tiring as well, she knew that his last push of strength would be nothing but brutal and hard to survive.

Anakin had always been like that: when he’d sensed himself near the end of his rope, he’d give the last part of the battle his all and nearly every time, his opponent lost because of it.

Stormtroopers rounded the corner, beginning to open fire on Rex and Ahsoka as they carefully tried to avoid hitting Vader. But with Rex on her flank and one lightsaber positioned behind her to bat away any blaster bolts that made it through Rex’s defences, the duel carried on like normal. Rex shot down the troopers, ducking and using the wall as a shield as he remembered his training from the war.

It was when the last Stormtrooper fell, Rex turning back to face Ahsoka and Vader, that Ahsoka felt it. Rex raised his blaster and fired at where Vader had his back turned slightly. Ahsoka knew he wouldn’t be able to react in time for his blade was too deeply locked in her own. The blaster would go right through his side and with his injury, Ahsoka knew she’d have the chance to finally do what Obi-Wan had failed.

To avenge Anakin.

To protect the twins.

The end was so near that Ahsoka felt like she could already feel his death as it came handed to her on a silver platter. He’d taught her everything she knew and now she would use that to best him.

The blaster bolt flew through the air towards where Vader stood but then there was a sudden cry and Vader was thrown back like a rush of wind had picked him up and thrown him out of the way. Ahsoka watched as his menacing figure stumbled backwards, the blaster bolt that should’ve injured him enough for her to win, zipping straight past her into the wall.

Luke stood at the end of the corridor, a panicked look on his face and his arm still raised.

* * *

The twins ran through the corridors with a new sense of purpose. They weren’t attempting to escape to simply save their own skins now: now they were trying to escape so they could bring the vitally important Death Star plans to the hands of the Rebellion. Neither Luke nor Leia were oblivious to just how major those plans were and how, if a flaw was exposed, it could turn the tide of the brewing Civil War.

With the Death Star gone, no other planet or people would suffer as Alderaan had.

At the thought of Alderaan, something changed in Leia. She’d desperately been trying to push those thoughts away when she’d been trapped in her cell, the glow of the Death Star’s laser burning in her mind like a nightmare she couldn’t shake. The numbness had paved way for pain and the pain had borne a blistering anger that raged deep inside Leia’s soul whenever she thought of how Tarkin had smiled when Alderaan went up in flames.

It was that anger that, even against her own better judgement, had Leia taking off in a direction she knew to be away from the hangar. Tarkin’s face was in her mind, his gaunt features sharp and there was a vile hunger in his eyes.

_You may fire when ready._

He’d enjoyed watching Alderaan burn, he’d found glee at being in command of such a vicious weapon and the power had enveloped him to know Leia had been helpless at his side, unable to do anything and save her people. He’d wiped out trillions simply because he _could_ and Leia knew nothing in the Galaxy, nothing she could say, would ever make him feel remorse for what he’d done.

Luke called out his sister’s name as he watched her race down a corridor that went further into the space station rather than towards the outskirts where the hangar was located. There was something vicious about the way Leia shot down any trooper in her path and when he reached out to his sister through their bond, all he felt was burning rage.

Leia was hurting and Luke knew whatever half-concocted plan his sister had made in her anger, he couldn’t let her go through with it.

“Artoo! Threepio! Go to the ship and get it set up for take off!” Luke yelled at the droids as he started backing down the corridor Leia had run down. “If you see Ahsoka and Rex, tell them we’re on our way!”

Luke didn’t wait to hear Threepio or Artoo’s no doubt disgruntled reply and as he raced down the corridor, following Leia’s presence, he was pleased to see they’d actually done as he’d asked and not followed him like he’d half expected. It was the sound of blaster fire that told Luke where his sister was before he actually saw her.

Leia was pressed against the wall by the turning of a corridor, her blaster raised as troopers down the corridor attempted to shoot at her. She’d duck around the corner, aiming perfectly and managing to hit one of them before pressing back against the wall to hide from their retaliation. Her fingers were white as they held the blaster with force and Luke just knew it was all pain that was pushing this response.

“Leia,” Luke approached her like she were a wounded animal who would take flight if he made any sudden movements. “What are you doing?”

His sister didn’t reply but her mouth pressed into a straight line as she ducked around the corner once more, taking out another Stormtrooper with perfect aim. There were only two advancing bucket-heads now out of the five she’d first been met with.

“Leia,” Luke tried again.

“I have to do this,” her words were raw and hissed, every part of her voice strained. She could see Tarkin’s smirk in her mind’s eye and Leia knew she would get no peace until that monster had been brought to justice.

Alderaan deserved justice— she’d been unable to stop the unfathomable act but she could avenge her planet’s destruction instead. The Empire would only defend Tarkin’s cruelty but as the former Princess for the obliterated planet, Leia felt as if she deserved to be judge, jury and executioner over Tarkin’s actions.

“No,” Luke shook his head, not liking the dark look crossing Leia’s face. “You don’t.”

Leia popped her head around the corner again, shooting down the last two Stormtroopers with ease before turning back to Luke with fire in her eyes. Her entire body shook with unimaginable anger and Leia felt that if she concentrated hard enough, she could reach out and crush the entire space station with just her pain and fury alone.

“He destroyed Alderaan!”

Call it justice or revenge but Leia wanted Tarkin to pay for what he’d done.

Luke sounded scared when he spoke, his blue eyes wide as he looked at his sister with a new outlook. He’d always known Leia to be a hot-head, she was a force to be reckoned with and anyone who purposely put themselves in her bad books were just asking to play with fire. But there was something so dark about Leia’s expression and her anger was unlike he’d ever felt.

It reminded Luke a little of what he’d felt like under Palpatine’s thumb on Coruscant. The Dark Side was tempting and easy to succumb to when there was enough pain there to push you in that direction.

Leia was toying with darkness and Luke could tell she was blinded by the agony of Alderaan’s loss.

“I know,” Luke kept his voice calm, trying to not let his fear be shown as he spoke. “I know, I felt it. I felt it Leia and I’m so sorry.”

_Alderaan is about to become an example of what happens when you oppose the Empire._

Luke could suddenly picture Tarkin, the faceless man he’d seen during his meditation when trying to find Leia a day ago. Despite his father’s close workings with the man, Luke had never become well acquainted with the infamously vile Imperial Grand Moff and as Luke realised who’d been the one to order the destruction of Alderaan, he didn’t find himself surprised.

It seemed fitting of Tarkin to be so brutal.

His sister’s pain was understandable and Luke knew her desire for revenge (for he could not see it as justice) was as equally comprehensible but that didn’t make it right and going down this path would only push Leia towards a darkness he knew she didn’t want. Just like Anakin had let his fears consume him until he fell into the Dark Side with no life raft to pull him back, Leia was letting her pain dictate her.

“He needs to be brought to justice!” Leia seethed and when she’d been about to rush down the corridor where the bodies of the Stormtroopers lay, Luke raised his hand to make her pause.

“This isn’t justice.”

Leia blinked, seeing the massive explosion in her mind’s eye as Alderaan imploded and the debris fanned out with an insurmountable force. The planet that had been her home for six years was nothing but an asteroid field now, something that only existed in her memories and in the history books.

Tarkin had wiped out a whole culture: a trillion people whose lives had yet to begun or had been cut off far before their time.

“How can you say that?” Leia hissed, trying to push away the thoughts of the green laser. This space station was vile but it was the man on it who made it evil. “Tarkin is responsible for the deaths of more people than humanly possible! He ordered for Alderaan to be destroyed and when it blew up, he smiled. He smiled, Luke! How can bringing him down not be justice?”

Leia was practically shaking with anger and her grip on her blaster was so tight, Luke feared the metal would actually bend.

“This isn’t right,” Luke tried to talk some sense into his sister. Just like she’d done at his school when his mind had been enveloped in darkness, he reached out to her in the same manner. “Killing Tarkin won’t bring you peace, Leia.”

“I don’t care about peace! I want justice for those who he _murdered_!”

“You truly think justice will be done this way?” Luke frowned. “Killing Tarkin won’t bring Alderaan back. His blood being on your hands won’t take away any of your pain— all it will do is make you more like him.”

Distantly Leia knew her brother was right but there was a heaviness in her heart that she couldn’t ignore. Her voice was raw when she spoke. “He didn’t even care Luke, he slaughtered them like they were nothing. He blew Alderaan up like it was his to squish. I just want him to pay.”

“Alderaan deserves justice, I agree,” Luke nodded, stepping closer to his sister. He could feel Leia’s anger ebbing away, the darkness starting to fade out as resignation set in. She was still angry but it wasn’t as hot anymore. “But not this way. Bail wouldn’t have wanted that.”

Leia closed her eyes, memories of two weeks ago playing in her mind no matter how much she knew it would hurt. They’d been sitting in Bail’s study, completely unaware of how their lives would change in the matter of hours. For so long the shadow of Anakin’s fall had followed Leia like a dark cloud, the knowledge deep in her mind that she had all the same qualities as he to follow in her father’s footsteps.

And what had Bail said?

_His choices do not define you— we all make our own decisions and find our path in this Galaxy._

If Leia went through with the dark thoughts circling in her mind, letting her anger control her, then Leia knew she would be willingly walking down the same path Anakin had walked decades ago. Killing Tarkin wouldn’t immerse her with the Dark Side but it would allow that darkness to ebb in and allow it to take root.

And then what would make her different from Vader?

Anakin had let that darkness into his mind and he’d succumbed to it, committing atrocious crimes all because decades prior he’d been unable to let his anger ago and deal with his emotions in a rational sense. Resorting to violence would do no good except leave Leia feeling disgusted with herself for not rising above such temptations.

It was with choices like this that had started Anakin on his path to Vader and whilst Leia wanted to see them as separate entities, for the first time she could painfully see how the good man and Jedi her father used to be had descended into the monstrous Sith he was now.

 _I will not let you down,_ those had been the words which Leia had told Bail two weeks ago. And even though the man was no longer there to see if she stayed true to that, Leia wanted to make him proud even after death.

As the anger faded away, rationality kicked in leaving Leia feeling cold. Justice for Alderaan would come but not in the form of her selling part of her soul to see the life leave Tarkin’s eyes. It would come through the Death Star plans being put in the hands of the Rebels and destroying the weapon which threatened so many other civilisations and planets.

Alderaan’s legacy deserved more than the cold-bloodedness Leia had been willing to offer.

Luke noticed the change in Leia’s demeanour, reaching out his hand to take his sister’s in a silent offering for her to know he would always be by her side. “Let’s get out of here,” there was no room for argument in his voice and when Leia’s hand touched his, they wasted no time in running back where there’d come from. The hangar wasn’t too far from them as they ran, ducking blaster fire and retaliating with equal strength.

“Threepio!” Luke yelled into the comlink as they ran. “Is the ship ready to go?”

“Master Luke!” The golden droid’s reply came quickly. “Thank the Maker you’re okay! Artoo has prepared the ship for flight but we have yet to see Captain Rex or Ahsoka. Do hurry back Master Luke, I would much like to get out of this place before we all get blown sky high!”

Leia frowned, “Ahsoka and Rex aren’t there? Where could they be?” They’d reached the hangar now, their ship in plain sight with the temptation to escape surrounding them when the sound of lightsabers clashing made the twins turn to see a corridor off to the side of the hangar where Vader’s blade was locked in with Ahsoka’s. Rex was firing at the Sith and as Luke watched with wide eyes, he knew the Clone was about to get an opening to wound his father.

And then Vader would be too distracted to block a strike from Ahsoka, leading to what Luke would be his demise.

Luke didn’t even think before he sprinted off in their direction, already building up the Force around him so he could do something— anything— to prevent what he knew was about to happen from happening. His father could be a cruel man who’d hurt his sister and been complicit in Alderaan’s destruction and whilst Luke wasn’t ignoring any of his atrocities, he also knew he couldn’t stand by and watch the man die.

As the bolt left Rex’s blaster, Luke felt like everything moved in slow-motion. He raised his hand and used the Force to push his father out of the way like a gust of wind had pressed him back.

For the first time in just over five weeks, Luke met his father’s masked gaze as an emotion he couldn’t name rose up and gripped at his chest. “Father,” he whispered, hoping the one word would convey to the man how he felt.

Vader raised a gloved hand, his voice sounding forceful and possessive. “Son.”

And Luke realised what the emotion that had risen up in his chest was: grief. For nothing had changed and Luke would still need to leave but this time, he would have to face his father before doing so.

* * *

Vader stood there, his hand raised, palm upwards, as he watched the boy from down the corridor. It had been bordering six weeks since he’d last seen his son and Vader knew that he would never have left for the Mid Rim had he known what would be about to occur. Six weeks was a long time to be parted from your child and as Vader studied Luke, he found himself having to re-mesmerise the boy’s face.

There was so much of Padme in their son’s features that he’d not noticed before.

“Son,” Vader called out again, stretching his arm out even further in the hope Luke would take it. _Come to me,_ he silently begged. _Luke, come back._

The duel had been put on hold, Luke’s appearance and words having cut it off with no intention be restarted. It had been six weeks since he’d seen his son and Vader found himself unable to look away.

Luke looked healthier than he had in the transmission Vader had played over a million times in the two weeks of his disappearance. The dark bags under his eyes were nearly gone, he was back to a healthy weight and his hair had been cut to reduce the shaggy look (although Vader would argue another hair cut would be in order again soon). It seemed the two weeks he’d been off gallivanting around the Galaxy with Vader’s enemies had actually done him some good and Vader found himself angry at that fact.

“Luke,” Vader tried again just as Leia caught up to the group. Her cheeks were pink as she skidded to a halt beside her brother, her hair slightly disarray and her eyes were wide with fear or anticipation, Vader wasn’t sure. “Daughter,” he stretched his hand to her as well. _Come back to me. Let us be the family the Jedi tried to break apart._

With the twins standing side by side (Vader was still getting used to that revelation), he could see the resemblance between them now. It was subtle and easily ignored, something he wouldn’t have been able to pick out without the truth having ripped a blindfold from his eyes. His children didn’t look alike in any obvious way, they both took after one respective parent each but there were small similarities he could spot now he knew them to be the flesh of his flesh.

The shape of their eyes were the same, the arch of their brows and they seemed to be complementary halves of the other in their expressions and mannerisms. Both of them took after their mother in height and stature, their petite figures having come all from Padme.

In his mind’s eye, Vader saw his wife as slender and small as she’d used to be, her belly pointed outwards and seeming to dwarf her as it had made room for the two perfect beings that were in front of him now.

His children.

No matter what had occurred near the end, no matter what had been done or said before their mother’s untimely death, Luke and Leia had been created through their parent’s love and their love only. They were Padme’s legacy and Vader wanted them to be his future.

“Son, daughter,” he called out again. “Return to me. Come with me now and all will be forgiven and forgotten.”

“What is going on?” Rex’s voice cut in, his blaster still raised but his expression one of complete confusion. Ahsoka looked distraught, her eyes wide as she looked between Vader and the twins.

“You knew?” She whispered to Luke and Leia, the betrayal clear in her tone. Luke was unable to break his eye-contact with his father, trying to fight the urge to run to the man and throw his arms around him but Leia met Ahsoka’s gaze, the pain in her eyes being all the Togruta needed to know that _yes, they had known._

“Father,” Luke choked out again, a lump rising in his throat. He knew it was impossible but all Luke wanted in that moment was to go home. He wanted to take his father’s outstretched hand and he wanted to go home.

But the Emperor’s shadow still loomed and Luke knew nothing had changed. If anything, things were worse now.

Rex looked to Luke, his features twisting. “Why are you calling him that?”

“Captain Rex,” Vader’s voice was as menacing as ever. He’d never expected to see the Clone again after the events of sixteen years ago. “I suppose I should not be surprised that my children ended up in your company.”

Rex’s eyes widened and the hand holding his blaster shook. He looked like he’d just seen a ghost, a sheen of sweat breaking out on his forehead as his mouth stuttered. “No— no— General? This can’t be— you can’t be . . . General?”

Vader ignored the man’s pained revelation, turning to the twins once more. “Luke, Leia, now is the time to join me. End your petty rebellions and return to me at once. As your father I demand you take your rightful place at my side.”

“We don’t owe you anything,” Leia spat at the same time Luke shook his head, emanating sadness.

“Father, we can’t. You need to let us go.”

Vader felt his anger rise, wondering if it was the Jedi or the corrupt Rebellion which had twisted his children’s minds so. “You belong at my side! You cannot fight your destinies!”

“Father this isn’t what you want!” Luke tried again, feeling tears threaten to fall. Not for the first time in his life, Luke wished things could’ve been different. “I can sense the conflict in you. You need to let us go.”

Vader was seething but as Ahsoka looked between the pair, feeling an unimaginable grief, she could sense a little of what Luke obviously saw so plainly. The Sith was immersed in darkness but whenever he looked towards his son or daughter, there would be a flicker of light in his presence. But Ahsoka didn’t focus on it; if she let that hope take hold then it would only hurt her when Vader proved to have truly killed Anakin.

“You are being an arrogant fool. The choices you are making are putting you in considerable danger! The Emperor has granted me one chance to bring you back as a loyal citizen to the Empire— if you escape my grasp now then all chances for you to ever return will be vanquished!”

“We do not want to go back,” Leia shot at him, clenching her fists at her side. She could still remember what the anger from before had felt like, how it had pulsed around her and pushed for her to do the unthinkable. And despite herself, despite still wanting to refuse Vader as her father, Leia found herself understanding him a little more. “If we go back, we die.”

“You risk that by leaving!”

“At least this way we stay true to ourselves. I would rather die fighting for good than through the Emperor’s corruption.”

Ahsoka had moved herself to stand before the twins, her hands still clenched around her lightsabers. “I will not let you take them, Vader.”

Even though Rex was still reeling, unable to piece it together properly that the man he’d served with during the war, the good man who’d always cared about his troops and fought at the frontlines with them, had become this monster, he stood beside Ahsoka. No matter what, no matter what Anakin had become, Rex would protect his children.

Because whether Vader was Anakin or not, Rex knew what the Sith was proposing was not something the true Anakin would’ve wanted. Not for Luke and Leia.

“Neither will I.”

Vader raised his lightsaber with rage, his entire body pulsing with unrestrained anger. Ahsoka noticed the change between his demeanour with her and Rex to that of the twins: with his children, even when angry, there was no malice. He even seemed . . . to care. It reminded her of Anakin when he’d been desperate for her to stop in her running and he’d pushed for her to come back to prove her innocence.

_I would never let anyone hurt you, Ahsoka— never._

But then the Dark Side wrapped around him and the roar he let out was almost inhuman. Any small flicker of the elder brother she loved seemed to disappear.

“You _dare_ to try and take them from me!”

“You’ve done that yourself.”

Luke felt his father’s increasing anger, swallowing heavily as he tried to de-escalate it. “Father, you must see that the Emperor will only hurt us if we go back. We don’t want to become Sith or join you in the Dark Side— Palpatine will either kill us or force us to become what we don’t want! And I can sense how disturbed you truly are at the thought of whatever the Emperor could and would do to us.”

“If you feign your allegiance then when the right times comes, we can usurp him! We can take control and rule the Galaxy in the way we believe it should be run!”

“And how is that exactly?” Ahsoka’s voice was cold.

Vader growled once again but this time Leia cut him off. “Obi-Wan told us so many stories about you— about the man you were— when we were children. He told us of your strengths and your triumphs and how greatly you loved. . . And how greatly you would have loved us — Luke believes that part of that man is still alive. Prove that Luke’s faith is not misplaced. But chaining us to your side is not love, you need to let us go.”

“You speak of Kenobi,” Vader almost sounded curious behind the brewing rage. “So it truly was my former Master who betrayed me so and stole my children fresh from their mother’s womb.”

“As opposed to what?” Leia scoffed. “Him handing us to you after our mother died? Letting the Emperor corrupt us when we were innocent children? You slaughtered children days before we were born, did you really think Obi-Wan would see that as good parenting?”

“You were not his to take!”

“Father,” Luke’s voice wobbled. He knew, probably better than anyone, how much Vader hated Obi-Wan. Maybe that hatred had come from how close they’d been, all of Anakin’s love being twisted into hate when the Dark Side had taken hold in his mind but Luke knew Vader saw Obi-Wan as his greatest enemy.

Yet, everything Obi-Wan had done, before and after the Sith rising, had been _for_ Anakin.

“Obi-Wan raised us well,” Luke carried on, hoping his eyes would convey just how much truth was behind his words. “We had a good childhood—“

“He stole you from me!”

Luke sucked in a breath. “He raised us to love you just as he loved you. I know you’re angry Father but we were raised together and we were happy, doesn’t that count for something?"

“My enemy took you from me— your father— and raised you with Jedi treason embedded into your heads and you expect me to be happy that at least you were together? You are naive, Son.”

Vader took a step like he was about to move forwards when Rex trained his blaster on him, an unreadable look coming across his face. “Do not come near them,” the Clone’s voice was harsh. “Do not come anywhere near them.”

The Sith’s breathing hitched like he’d taken a sharp intake of breath and when he replied, there was only malice in his voice. Vader’s gloved hand rose up and Leia instantly knew what was about to happen. For a second she felt her own heart spike, the memory of how it felt for her throat to close up as an invisible grip choked the life out of her making her stomach twist. But Vader’s wrath was not directed at her.

Rex made a noise, his blaster falling from his hand as he reached up to grip his neck. His feet dangled slightly above the ground, his face tilted upwards as he clawed for whatever invisible force to let go.

“Rex!” Ahsoka’s voice rose an octave. She twisted her lightsabers around, her teeth bared when she turned to Vader. “Let. Him. Go.”

“You dare think you can come between my children and I?” Vader ignored his former Padawan, his terrifying masked gaze boring into the choking Clone. “You dare think that I will listen to your pitiful—“

“Father! Let him go! _Please_.”

At Luke’s desperate cry, Vader’s grip released and Rex fell to his knees. Ahsoka was by his side a second later, her back still to the twins in case any sudden protection was needed but her hands tried to help right the Clone as he gulped in needed breaths.

“And this is what you’re trying to sell to us?” Leia seethed, pointing at the Sith. “This is what you want us to become? I would rather die!”

“No!” Vader roared. “Death is not acceptable! You must return and face your destiny!”

“You mean become Palpatine’s slaves? Never!”

Vader’s next words were quieter but they delivered so much force that Leia found herself taking a step back. “ _My children will not be slaves_. You think you can outrun the Empire forever? You will be found and the Emperor will unleash his wrath on you when that time comes. You threaten his rule and my Master will not tolerate you to live if you do not return and feign your loyalty to him now.”

“Things won’t go the way you want,” Leia shook her head, thinking about how she’d felt before when chasing Tarkin’s death. Or how Luke had been on Coruscant when she’d gone to save him. Vader believed they could turn to the Dark Side and survive as themselves but Leia knew once the darkness took hold, the people they were now would die. “We’ll sell our souls and be left with nothing— look at you: you lost everything because of it.”

“Because the of the Jedi! Because Kenobi took everything from me!”

Leia frowned, wondering how he couldn’t see his own part in all of this. Obi-Wan had done all he could to salvage Vader’s mess but that was exactly what it was: Vader’s mess. “You lost everything because of the choices _you_ made. You got here from your own doing. There is no one to blame but yourself.”

It was Anakin’s anger that had borne Vader. Anakin’s rage. His fear. His desperation. His darkness.

Leia had spent more than half her life listening to Obi-Wan recount story after story about her biological father, detailing his bravery and his passion in full detail with both fondness and pain. She’d listened to Obi-Wan tell them about their father’s fall and how Vader had killed the man their father had been. Just like she, Obi-Wan had seen Vader and Anakin as separate people who’d become entangled and the good, Anakin, had died because of the darkness, Vader, usurping him.

But as Leia recalled Obi-Wan’s stories, she recognised the darker traits in Anakin that had been hiding under the surface which bore a striking resemble to Vader now. His drive for victory, stopping at nothing to win. His possessive nature and inability to let go. His aggressiveness which border-lined violence.

Anakin may not still be alive inside Vader’s cold shell but Vader had certainly been alive inside Anakin. People just hadn’t seen the signs until it was too late and the darkness had risen up until it had been too much to ignore.

“Luke and I _won’t_ follow in your footsteps,” Leia spoke with the most certainty because she felt it in her bones. No matter what happened, Leia knew that Anakin’s mistakes burned too bright for either of them to repeat. “We _won’t_ turn like you did. I would rather live my life on the run, doing good for the Galaxy than become something so foul it corrupts my entire soul. That is what our mother would have wanted.”

At the mention of Padme, Vader froze like he’d been electrified. Not for the first time he saw how striking the resemblance his daughter bore to his late wife and it went deeper than simple appearance. Leia was his daughter through and through, her personality and fiercer attitude more like him than her mother but there was also so much of Padme in her.

Luke had Padme’s heart, her ability to forgive and her kindness. Leia had Padme’s drive for change, her unparalleled morals and her will to help every living person in the Galaxy.

And just like how Padme had turned away from him, their children were doing the same.

_Don’t you see? We don’t have to run away anymore. I have brought peace to the Republic. I am more powerful than the Chancellor, I— I can overthrow him. And together, you and I can rule the Galaxy . . . Make things the way we want them to be!_

_I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Obi-Wan was right. You’ve changed._

The Dark Side wrapped around Vader, whispering words into his ear and urging him to teach his children a lesson. Teach them what it meant to defy him and turn their backs on the darkness which was their destiny. The anger brewed up in him and his hand rose just a fraction before he remembered the unimaginable pain he’d woken up to on that medical bed on Coruscant sixteen years ago.

_It seems in your anger you killed her._

Whether Padme had died by his hand or not, he’d contributed to her death. He’d taken his anger out on her and he’d unleashed a wrath she should never have faced and now their children no longer had the mother they deserved and needed.

It was no redeeming factor nor did it make up for his previous actions, but Vader swore to himself that he would not allow for what happened to Padme to happen to her children. Padme’s legacy would live on through their children: her smile would forever live on Luke’s face, her kindness forever in the boy’s heart and whilst Leia may take more after him, she would always have Padme’s sensible head on her shoulders, her mother’s rationality and wisdom forever living on in her mind.

Vader didn’t respond for a few breathing cycles, his fists clenching and unclenching for a second. “Then your fate is determined. A piece of advice, however: don’t get caught.”

A legion of troopers came barging down the corridor behind Vader, their weapons raised at the Rebel group several metres away but Vader raised up his gloved hand and like a massive gust of wind, all the Stormtroopers fell backwards to the floor.

Vader’s voice was cold and he set his eyes on Luke for what seemed to be (or what he hoped to be) the last time. “Go.”

They didn’t need to hear him say it twice as they all took off running down the corridor towards their awaiting ship. Ahsoka helped Rex as they ran, letting the still winded man half-lean on her as they went. Troopers on the hangar started shooting but between Leia’s blaster and Ahsoka and Luke’s lightsabers, they were able to defend themselves well enough.

Everything seemed to happen so quick. They boarded their ship in the matter of seconds, the boarding ramp closing the second the last person climbed onboard and before they even knew it, they were flying off the space station into the vastness of space before them.

Luke knew he should be happy at their close escape yet, as he sat down in the communal area feeling drained of all his energy, he couldn’t help but feel like he’d left something behind.

Before the ship got pulled into hyperspace, he reached out to the muffled link Vader had reopened earlier. It felt familiar to touch despite the time unused and Luke thought back to how often he’d abused it during his adolescence growing up in the Imperial Palace.

Often times he’d used their bond as a way of communication if saying something to his father’s face seemed too hard. Or he’d reach out to their bond in a way of reassurance if he was scared, like his father’s presence in his mind was able to calm him down. Or he’d use it to try and annoy the man by telling him jokes when he knew him to be in an important meeting (Luke always found himself grounded after doing that).

But now he reached out to it as the familiar tug of hyperspace threatened to separate father from son, yet again.

_‘Goodbye Dad.’_

And then the bond became muffled once again as the blue and white blur of stars danced around them.


	27. A Trick Shot To End All Trick Shots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or How Luke Skywalker Destroyed The Death Star

Tarkin smirked as he stood on the bridge. His hands were clasped behind his back and there was a sadistic glint in his eye when one of his Lieutenants informed him that the suspected Rebel ship had managed to escape. This was all going according to plan.

“Was a tracking device placed on the ship like I instructed?”

The Lieutenant nodded, their posture one of perfection as they kept their back straight, not looking Tarkin in the eye. _Good,_ he thought; he hated when underlings looked at him as if they were his equal.

“Yes, sir.”

“Then keeping tracking their location and once they pull out of hyperspace, set the Death Star’s location to wherever they end up. It is time we destroy those pitiful Rebels once and for all.”

The Lieutenant nodded once again, turning away to return to their station and Tarkin moved back to stare out the view-port of the bridge, a gleeful satisfaction starting to settle in. Destroying Alderaan had been the Empire’s way of showing the Galaxy that they did not fear using the Death Star’s capability. With Tarkin’s dislike of the Princess and Alderaan’s brewing uprising, it had been the perfect target to uncover the station’s power.

And now, with that fool of a Princess practically leading Tarkin by the hand to her beloved Rebellion, he would finally wipe her— and all her pitiful friends— out of extinction.

And finally, the Empire would reign supreme.

* * *

Everything passed in a blur once the ship touched down on Yavin IV. The forest moon, one of many circulating Yavin Prime in the Outer Rim, seemed like the best location for the Rebellion to move to after Dantooine was discovered. With thick trees and jungle like outskirts, the sort-of temple that the Rebellion now occupied was well hidden.

And between all the hugs and well wishes the twins were met with as they left the ship, they’d almost missed how Ahsoka and Rex had slinked off, undetected, to go hide somewhere on the new base.

Not that Luke or Leia could blame them for needing space after discovering what they had. To say the flight after leaving the Death Star had been awkward would be an understatement; the twins had never had such a horrible conversation as the one that occurred between them and the elder adults.

_"So you knew this whole time?" Ahsoka had sounded so distraught, the look in her eyes having pleaded that it not be true. "You knew and you lied?"_

_Leia had shaken her head. "We never lied."_

_That had made Ahsoka angry and she'd taken a step forward, a finger having been pointed at their chests. But where Ahsoka had reacted more harshly, Rex had been silent. The Clone had not spoken and he'd been staring at the same tile on the floor ever since the ship had left the Death Star. "You didn't tell us the truth!"_

_"Isn't what we said true in some sense?" Leia had just rebuked, having refused to back down. Even when Ahsoka had started glaring, she'd not backed down. "He did die!"_

_Ahsoka's voice had been deadly. "What happened to him-- what he became-- is_ worse _than death, Leia. And you didn't tell us about it."_

_Luke had hoped his words would've helped the_ _situation and yet the second they'd come out his mouth, he'd regretted them. "He's not gone, a part of him is still alive. I know it."_

_"You really think that my brother is alive inside that monster? Anakin would never have done half the horrible things that Vader has done!"_

_"There's good in him," Luke's voice had been small. But Ahsoka hadn't listened, her expression having turned darker._

_She'd crossed her arms, having narrowed her eyes at Luke and Leia. "Tell me what happened to him."_

_"We don't know!"_

_"Leia!" Ahsoka's voice had been sharp. "Stop lying and tell me the truth!"_

_Leia had shared a look with Luke before having sighed. "All we know is what Obi-Wan said: the Emperor had been manipulating our father for years, Obi-Wan was sent by the Council to destroy General Grievous and before he could even come back . . . the Sith had risen. Anakin had fallen."_

_Ahsoka had been in denial, her lips having parted to form words that had never left her mouth. Eventually, she'd stuttered out words. "No-- that just can't be true. Anakin . . . he would never have joined willingly."_

_"But he did."_

_"The General was good," Rex's voice had been gruff and scratchy from the lack of speaking. He'd refused to look in their direction. Luke had been unable to help but notice how destroyed he'd looked. "He was one of the best. There must've been a reason behind it all."_

_Leia had scoffed. "And you think I know? Luke and I hadn't even been born when he'd sold his soul to the devil and abandoned us for the Dark Side. He tore our family apart." He'd killed our mother, Leia had wanted to say but it had been lost on the way out._

_"I knew Anakin and the Chancellor had been close but . . ." Ahsoka had shaken her head. "I never could've imagined this."_

_Luke had sighed. "This is why we didn't tell you."_

_A new thought had made Ahsoka's eyes widen. "He knew you . . . You knew him! How is that so? I thought you'd been on Tatooine all this time, Luke."_

_The boy had rubbed the back of his head out of nervousness. "Actually, uh, I lived on Tatooine for six months. And then Father found me and I've been with him ever since."_

_"You lived with Vader?" Ahsoka's voice had been a whisper, full of horror._

_"That's how I know there's good in him! That's how I know he cares and he's just conflicted! My true father, your brother Ahsoka, is alive inside him I know it."_

_Ahsoka's eyes had been misty and she'd shaken her head in denial. "If there's one thing I know, it would've been that Anakin never would've wanted his son to live with a Sith."_

_Leia's voice had been like ice. "Even if that Sith had been himself?"_

_"Especially then."_

_Silence had hung in the air for a while and then Ahsoka had stood up, having walked without a word and left the room. The twins had watched her go, both understanding the horror she'd been feeling and knowing the shock had been like a dagger to the heart. And then Rex had followed after Ahsoka and Luke and Leia had been left in the cold silence left behind._

But with all the flurry of activity the twins were met with when they arrived on Yavin IV, it was easy to put their Ahsoka and Rex problem to the back of their minds. It hadn’t taken long for Artoo’s memory to be processed and from there experts had examined the Death Star plans to discover any faults.

Just over an hour after they’d arrived on Yavin IV, Mon Mothma had already called a tactical meeting to put a battle plan into formation. Red Squadron had all grouped together as Jan Dodonna, a famed military officer from the Clone Wars, had outlined the Death Star’s flaw in the super-laser reactor which, if shot with a star fighter’s torpedo missiles into a two-metre wide exhaust port, could blow the entire station up.

Things had been put into motion effective immediately, all pilots were geared up and it took Leia a little longer than she would’ve like to find her brother in the flurry of motion the hangar had become. People ran around fixing crafts, filling up the fuel tanks and pilots were racing to their star fighter’s as if their lives depended on it— which, in a way, it did.

But then Leia saw a flash of blonde hair as she raced over to where Luke stood at the bottom of a ladder leading up to his star fighter’s cockpit. Artoo seemed to be arguing with Luke, his beeps getting louder and longer with each tirade as Threepio translated them.

“Leia!” Luke looked relieved to see his sister approaching. Her pointed to Artoo with a slightly insufferable look. “Can you please Artoo that I don’t need him to babysit me on this mission!”

Artoo beeped in an angry sort of way; after spending so much time with the droids by now, Leia was starting to get good at sensing the astromech droid’s tone and hint to what he was saying. However, Threepio was still the perfect translator. “But Master Luke it could be dangerous!” Threepio stressed. “Artoo and I would much prefer he accompany you.”

“I don’t need to a babysitter.”

“It's not about having a babysitter,” Leia crossed her arms. “It's about someone having your back. Artoo can help with navigation and control. Luke, please, take him with you.”

A soft look crossed Luke’s face before he expressed worry. “But what if he gets hurt?”

“Artoo’s been in so many space battles by now, haven’t you Artoo?” The droid whistled in agreement. “He can take care of himself. He’s dependable and he’ll bounce right back.”

Luke shook his head with a loud sigh. “Fine. Come on then Artoo.” The droid squealed with excitement as he turned on his jet boosters and flew up into the holder fit for an astromech droid, sounding very pleased with himself.

“Oh do be careful now Artoo,” Threepio started to stress, struggling to crane his back so he could see his friend properly. “And take care of Master Luke!”

Leia drowned out his words as she turned to Luke herself. There was a tightening in her stomach, something uncomfortable growing as she thought of Luke getting in that fighter and jetting off on a dangerous mission without her. Ever since the incident on Coruscant, it had been them against the Galaxy: together.

Just like when they’d been children, the past few-weeks-turned-month had been them having each other’s backs and stopping at nothing to get the other out of danger. From leaving Coruscant, to Mastiff Phalone, to the spy, to the Death Star, they’d been together throughout it all.

And now Luke was going solo in the skies for a cause greater than themselves. Even though Leia was so proud of her brother and the bravery he was emitting, she couldn’t help but feel scared that anything could happen when she wasn’t watching her twin's flank.

“Luke—“

“I know,” Luke cut in, a reassuring smile on his face even though it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll make it back, I promise.”

A lump rose in Leia’s throat but she swallowed it down with much force. Her stomach continued to twist with fear but she plastered on a brave face, not wanting him to know just how terrified she was that he might not make it back. This could be their last moment and the thought was so raw that she had to push it away immediately.

No, Luke would come back— he always came back.

“You haven’t been known to keep your promises in the past,” Leia replied instead, trying to lighten the mood out of fear she would break down instead. The pin-pricks behind her eyes got steadily harder to ignore.

“Trust me, I know if I break this promise then you’ll find a way to revive me just so you could kill me yourself. And I know your wrath is worse than death, Leia." Luke elbowed her gently. There was a look in his eyes that made Leia see how he understood her fear. Out in the cold of space, there were many things that would be out of Luke's control. He was an amazing pilot, able to fly with the daring of a man twice his age and the skill of a professional but even then, one shot could bring him down. And even as Leia acknowledged that, she also knew Luke would do everything in order to make it safely back.

All Leia could do was offer a small smile in return, the skin around her eyes feeling tight as she gave Luke a long hug. She could feel through their bond that Luke wasn't scared for his upcoming mission, in fact: he was excited. This was the moment he'd always dreamt of. And even though a part of Leia wanted to ask him to stay, to not go out into a space battle where anything go could wrong, she knew she could never take this away from her brother. 

When their hug came to an end, Leia wrapped her arms around her torso as she watched Luke climb up the stairs to the cockpit. There was a look on his face that reminded her of when he'd been a young boy, spinning around in their living room as he dreamt of space battles, flying and saving the day. Artoo chirped from his holder and although droids typically couldn't get smug, Luke knew his astromech was not like regular Artoo units. 

_Let's go show the Empire who's_ boss!

Luke let out a laugh as the words translated themselves on his screen, feeling giddy to participate in his first proper space battle. He spared a glance at Leia as the engines of his star-fighter came to life, trying to remember all he could about the one person who'd ever felt like home. And then he was flying out of the hangar, his eyes already on the stars.

* * *

There was panic in the command centre, everyone holding their breaths as the first pilot got close enough to the reactor to shoot out his torpedo missiles. Their scans had indicated the Death Star was closing in on Yavin IV’s location, with only minutes estimated to be left before the moon was blown up and all hope was lost.

This mission was their only chance of survival and as Leia looked around the room at all the leaders and military strategists who held their breaths, she could sense all their disappointment and fear when the pilot’s words crackled over the comms.

“Target missed. I repeat: target missed. It didn’t go in."

“We’re doomed,” one of the military strategists exclaimed loudly. Leia didn’t know his name but she could see a sheen of sweat clinging to his forehead as he stared intently at the circular screen on the table as it broadcasted how long left until the Death Star was in range. As of now, it read less than three minutes.

“Hope is not lost yet,” Jan Dodonna shot back without a fault in his voice. Leia watched him as he stood on the other side of the screen to her, his hands gripping the circular table until his knuckles went white and his eyes bored into the screen.

He was a rather old man with withered skin and a full, white beard. But there was determination in his eyes and his voice carried for miles like he was used to exuding authority.

Leia couldn’t remember a specific time but she knew she’d met this man before. Dodonna’s courage was one she’d felt before and distantly, she remembered kind words Bail had once said about the man’s military ease. As the screen before them read there was only a minute and a half to the Death Star’s attack, she edged closer to the man and he placed his hand on her shoulder with a comforting smile.

Leia tried to not think about the space left behind in the room from General Willard’s demise. She’d found out after touching down on the Yavin IV base that her friend had not made it off Dantooine and after losing Alderaan only days ago, the loss of General Willard seemed to hit harder. Yet Leia pushed all that pain to the side, focusing instead on the mission being carried out.

There was so much at stake and Leia felt it weigh down heavily on her shoulders. The Death Star was practically upon them, the danger was in the air and with the screen counting down the one minute they had left, the tension in the command room was one that Leia had never felt before. Everyone held their breaths once more, listening to the pilots talk over the comms as they quickly dictated who would go in for another last-ditch attempt run at destroying the deadly contraption.

(Would they feel it when the laser hit? When she'd stood in the view-port and seen the destruction brought by the Death Star on Alderaan, she'd felt her people's cries before an eerie silence had settled in. Had they felt pain for a brief second before everything had been wiped out? Had they seen the laser shooting through the sky mere mili-seconds before their murder? Would everyone on Yavin IV feel pain for a simple second too?)

Leia felt her back straighten as the red dot symbolising Luke's fighter suddenly changed course on the hologram projected on the table. Two other dots, Red Seven and Red Six, followed after him on his flank. From the conversation heard over the comms and the protection of the battle on the table, it seemed that Luke was heading towards the reactor in order to attempt a shot.

The time continued to count down, going under the one minute mark. If the Rebellion died here, today, then hope really would seem to be lost. With Yavin IV’s destruction, the Galaxy would be held tightly in the Emperor’s stony grip. Fear would be the only thing the citizens of the Empire project and no one would dare speak out again with the Death Star looming over their heads.

This was it. And yet Leia had all the faith in the Galaxy that Luke would pull through. She just prayed to the Force that he survived for her to celebrate what she knew would be a victory, in person.

 _Please,_ Leia whispered to whoever would listen. She heard as the pilots’ yelled about Vader gaining on their tails and she felt a small tremble of nervous fear come from Luke from their bond but she ignored it, whispering to the Force instead. _Don’t take him._

* * *

Flying in a space battle in a one-man fighter was vastly different to sitting in Han Solo’s co-pilot seat as a bounty hunter shot non-fatal blasts to destabilise the ship.

Luke tried not to think about all who had died as he flew through the tunnel on the Death’s Star’s exterior towards the reactor shaft’s entrance. The hole was only two-metres wide and whilst the odds seemed rather small, Luke could recall shooting womp rats the same size during his time on Tatooine. And anyway, Obi-Wan used to say to never believe in the odds.

 _“You can do anything you set your mind to,_ ” Obi-Wan had said once when Luke had been a child. “ _Trust in the Force and your ability to feel the Force and you can achieve anything, Luke.”_

So that was what Luke planned to do: trust in himself and in the Force.

They’d just passed the in-built guns heading towards the reactor shaft when Luke felt a sudden tingle in his mind. _‘Luke’_ , his father’s voice rippled through his brain and for a second, the boy almost let go of the controls on his fighter. _‘Son.’_

 _Keep going_ , Luke told himself. _Ignore it._ But telling himself to ignore his father was easier than actually doing it and as his craft pushed forward, one of the Red Squadron fighter’s on his tail being shot down, Vader’s call seemed louder. Even Artoo’s whistles seemed drowned out by it.

_‘Luke!’_

_‘What is it?’_

_‘Son, stop.’_

Luke scrunched up his face, trying to ignore the man as he pushed his fighter forward faster. In the back of his mind he knew there was less than a minute left until the Death Star blew up Yavin IV but Luke tried to push that thought away as the reactor shaft loomed closer and closer. If he failed or if he was too slow, then Luke didn’t even want to think about what that would mean for Leia.

His sister was on Yavin IV, no doubt holding onto all the faith that she had for him, and Luke knew it would break him to let her down. He’d already lost Leia once, in a sense, and Luke was not prepared to lose her for real. If she were to die, Luke didn't even want to imagine that pain.

So he pressed on, willing his fighter to go faster as he ignored his father’s voice getting louder once more. The other pilot on his flank blew up, the cloud of red and white destruction almost blinding Luke when he looked behind him to survey the damage.

_‘You must come back, Luke; it is the only way you’ll be safe!’_

Luke turned on the navigation at Artoo’s beep of annoyance, watching as two lines drew closer and closer to tell him when to shoot at the target. Anxiety started to bloom in his stomach, the nagging worries ebbing into his mind as he watched the two lines draw closer. What if he missed it? This was their last chance! This was Leia’s last chance! What if he was too late? Or too slow? Or his father found some way to intervene?

_‘If you do not return back to the Empire, Luke, then the Emperor will order your death!’_

_‘Then let him!’_ Luke shot back through their bond, his agitation as the lines drew closer and the time until the Death Star fired making him on edge and snappy. What if he blew up the space station a mili-second after it fired on Yavin IV? Leia would still be lost even if her death had not been for nothing.

 _‘You do not understand!’_ Vader roared back and Luke could sense a slither of fear even if it vanished as if it had never been there. _‘You are being arrogant. If you do not return, the Emperor will order for me to bring about your death. You are too powerful to be left alive if you do not choose to join the Sith.’_

Despite it seriously not being the time, Luke found himself rattled by his father’s words. _‘And would you do it?’_

_‘I cannot disobey my Master, the Dark Side forbids it.’_

There was something so eerie about the words that they left Luke feeling cold. _‘I feel like a fool,’_ he whispered quietly, unable to hide the pain in his mind from his father. He could feel Vader recoil slightly but Luke didn’t care. He was hurting and he didn’t care to hide that. _‘Everyone has told me you are past redemption—‘_

_‘And they would be correct.’_

Luke ignored him. _‘But I ignored them. I’ve blindly held onto the truth that there is good in you; that my real father exists inside you. I thought I saw the good, I thought I heard it with every kind word you said or every time you put something to the side to help me because I needed it. I thought you loved me, I really did. But if you are willing to kill me because I refuse to join you as you pillage and massacre millions then I guess I was wrong.’_

The reactor shaft was right ahead and Luke knew his opportunity to shoot his shot and achieve victory was fading fast. A tremble in the back of his mind told Luke of a suspected danger and he wondered if Vader was preparing to shoot him down before Luke could make the Rebel-winning shot.

 _‘If you shoot me down and you let the Death Star take aim on Yavin IV,’_ Luke tried to speak clearly despite the rushed tones of his voice. _‘Then Leia will die— you’ll lose both your children and if you are capable with losing that then go ahead: shoot me down.’_

For a second Luke actually expected for the explosion to come his way but when it didn’t come, he closed his eyes and tried to feel the Force. With all the anxiety coursing through his brain and his short conversation with his father, Luke didn’t feel the Force flow around him as strongly as he should. He was too distracted and coupled with the fact he knew it was now or never to make that shot, he felt suddenly abandoned by the energy-source he’d been able to feel his entire life.

 _Help me. Guide me,_ he called out as his heart hammered in his chest. Now or never.

Luke’s thumb hovered over the red button to release the torpedo missiles, a sense of anguish in his chest as he feared he was too late. The Death Star rumbled underneath his craft as it geared up to make the destruction which Luke knew would haunt him if it succeeded.

 _“Use the Force, Luke,”_ a sudden voice echoed in his mind. It was familiar and kind and Luke recognised it instantly, a warm feeling growing in his chest. _“Trust in yourself.”_

So Luke did.

And when the time felt right, his heart just knowing that _now_ was the time to press the red button, Luke did so and the torpedo missiles flew straight out of his star fighter and down the reactor shaft in one fluid motion.

* * *

“Sir,” a Lieutenant stood to attention beside Tarkin. “The Rebel base is in location.”

Tarkin sneered, looking out at the moon through the view-port, excited to see the final cleanse that would destroy the Rebellion once and for all. For years the blasted Rebel Alliance has been growing in numbers and size, causing mayhem and doing all they could to try and destabilise the Empire.

They were all vermin and Tarkin couldn’t wait to exterminate them as such.

“Fire,” he said simply, his cruel eyes narrowing in anticipation. He felt as the Death Star began to vibrate, the energy of such a blast being created making the station rumble slightly. It was a calming sound to Tarkin, it was one of victory and accomplishment. With Vader in his TIE fighter shooting down the poor Rebel pilots who were dropping like flies, one by one, and the Rebel’s base ready to be fired upon, Tarkin knew that only good things would come his way after this.

Promotions, fame, wealth, glory— Tarkin’s thin lips twisted up into a sadistic smile as he thought about what his future in the prospering Empire would behold.

That sadistic smile twisted up even more as he pictured the young Princess of Alderaan, a girl he’d come to loathe for a long time now. Her corrupted morals and obtuse way of thinking, coupled with her rude demeanour and how she’d always refused to be intimidated in his presence, had always grated on Tarkin’s nerves more than it had when it had been her father to act in the same way.

Even though it had been her foolishness that had led him to the Rebel’s next base, Tarkin couldn’t deny that he was disappointed Leia Organa’s execution had not been carried through. He would’ve liked to have said one last insult at her before she died by his command.

But at least this way, she would die along with her corrupted band of insurgents and their collective threat would be wiped out together.

But as Tarkin mused on the thoughts of Princess Organa’s death, the rumbling under his feet became more violent; the entire station starting to quake as if a large hand was shaking it with brute force. A Lieutenant’s voice sounded behind him but Tarkin refused to turn his back on the view-port where Yavin IV still stood strong.

“Sir, something’s wrong! Something has entered the reactor—“

Tarkin seemed to know what was about to happen a second before it actually did. He kept his eyes glued on the moon that should be nothing but dust as the space station, his pride and glory, erupted into one massive explosion.

His last thought was of disgust for the Rebels and the Princess who’d somehow managed to best him.

* * *

Touching back down on the base with Wedge Antilles, the only other survivor, on his tail, Luke suddenly knew what the phrase ‘a warm welcome’ felt like. People were cheering, jumping in the air and chanting his name as he climbed out the cockpit into the adoring crowd. The atmosphere was buzzing, everyone thrilled to their very core at the victory and Luke almost found himself overwhelmed by the intense attention.

But then Leia pushed through the crowd, her grin practically splitting her space apart, and Luke thought of nothing else except of how happy he was that his feet were back on the ground.

His sister wasted no time in rushing forward, hugging him with pure excitement and happiness as the cheering of the crowd seemed to get louder and the Rebels let their joy be known. They were all alive to fight another day: the Empire had lost. Even if the war was still being fought, they’d won the battle and for now, that was a victory unparalleled by anything.

As Threepio and an undamaged Artoo reunited, their relief being drowned out by the yells of the people around them, Luke whispered to his sister through their bond. _‘I kept my promise.’_

Leia pulled out of the hug, unable to help herself with the giddy laugh that rippled from her throat. She just felt so warm, like a light had been turned on in her chest and the cheerful cries from the Rebels all around as they celebrated felt like a symphony to her ears. Everywhere she turned there was happiness and even though the future was uncertain, the here and now was nothing but joy and hope.

“I knew you would,” Leia playfully punched her brother’s shoulder, the grin unable to leave her face. Even Luke seemed to glow as the Rebel’s continued to praise him and cheer out at the million-in-one chance shot he’d managed to make.

And even though Luke was still reeling from the bitter words his father had said, he looked at his sister and he just knew: father or not, he would make it through. In this moment, with the Rebel’s all cheering and Leia projecting so much happiness he thought her heart would explode, Luke felt invincible.

He didn’t want to be Darth Vader’s son anymore. He didn’t want to be a nobody farm-boy turned famed pilot who’d destroyed the Death Star.

Luke wanted to be himself— his real self, which he felt had been left behind on Naboo. He was proud of his parentage, his Jedi father and Senator mother, and Luke no longer wanted to hide behind secrets that no longer needed to be kept.

And, as always, Leia seemed to understand exactly how he felt for her eyes met his, blue meeting brown, and she just _knew_ what he was thinking. So she stepped back, raised up her arm and with one loud cheering yell, she declared.

“One final cheer for my brother: Luke _Skywalker!”_

And the crowd became deafening, their claps and yells all mingling into one as Luke and Leia Skywalker shared a smile, both feeling a weight being lifted as they no longer needed to lie.


	28. Hoth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always liked the Hoth scenes in ESB so this is my take on it in this AU. Also, I know ESB jumps 3 years in the future in canon but in this AU it has only been a month since The Death Star exploded.

Hoth, Luke decided, had to be the worst planet he’d ever lived on— and he’d spent a brief spell on Tatooine, so to round Hoth up as the worst was saying something. And whilst Tatooine had been as equally extreme in weather conditions, for it had two scorching suns to shine down on the desolate desert, there was just something so hostile about Hoth’s frigid surroundings that Luke hated.

Snow was nothing new to Luke; he could remember Naboo’s winters when the temperature went into freezing and playing out in the cold with Leia, building little snowmen and having snowball fights until Obi-Wan forced them to come inside. But as a cold gust of wind smacked him in the face, making the fur on his snow gear ruffle, Luke recognised that there was something far more brutal about Hoth’s iciness than Naboo’s.

Even during the day, when the sun managed to peak through the thick clouds, the snow reigned supreme. The eternal winter was chilling and the barrenness made Hoth appear daunting for in the month that Echo Base had been up and running, Luke had yet to see more than just fauna living on the ice planet.

The Tauntaun he was riding as a mode of transport, one of the many that the Rebellion had found and adopted, let out a small whine. It was a large, lizard-like creature with a thick tail and strong tusks. It walked on it’s hind-legs and was covered in matted fur so it could brave the freezing conditions.

Luke gently patted the Tauntaun with ease, seeming to understand her discomfort. He didn’t like the mandatory patrols any more than he was sure she did but the Rebel Alliance had doubled down on outer-rim security after the breaches their last two bases had endured. With an Imperial spy invading their midsts and the Death Star looming over them, Luke could understand why the Rebellion conducted patrols of the surrounding area in case of any Imperial activity.

“We’ll head back soon,” Luke wasn’t sure if he was saying it more to himself or the Tauntaun who probably didn’t understand a word of Basic. It was starting to snow now, little flecks of ice beginning to cling to his snow gear and sticking to the scarf he had pulled up over his mouth to try and keep himself warm. The bitter breeze bit at his skin and even underneath the layers of thermal gear, a shiver ran over his body.

No, Luke really didn’t like Hoth.

The Tauntaun pressed further and the snow started to pick up, the sky turning a dark colour. But Luke ignored it as he continued his patrol of the area around Echo Base.

He didn’t want to half-ass the job considering he still carried a little guilt about the breaches of security to both Dantooine and Yavin IV, since they'd been partly his fault. So he pushed the Tauntaun on, using his out-dated binoculars to search the area for miles ahead.

But the visibility was starting to get poor and whilst Luke didn’t want to leave any rock unturned out of fear any other Imperial invasion could once again be his fault, he knew he couldn’t stay out here much longer. The Tauntaun whined again and Luke took it as a growl of ‘ _can we go home yet?'_

“Alright girl,” Luke conceded. “We’ll head back now.”

He was just about to turn the reins on the Tauntaun so they could head back in Echo Base’s direction when Luke spotted it. A flash of silver out in the distance, looking suspiciously like metal. An Imperial scout droid, perhaps? If it was what Luke feared then he knew he couldn’t allow it to get away or it could show evidence of Rebel activity out on the hostile planet.

The Tauntaun roared when Luke forced it forward but it moved nonetheless, heading out further and further into the glacial plains.

The wind was beginning to pick up, the snow become more of a blurry and Luke’s teeth started to chatter as his scarf became soaked in the wet iciness falling upon him. Snow was sticking to him now in heavy clumps and the goggles over his eyes started to become hard to see through. His fingers trembled as they reached towards his pocket where his father’s lightsaber lay.

His father—

 _No,_ Luke shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He’d promised himself a month ago that he wouldn’t spend his time dwelling on the man. Dwelling would only lead to more pain and his father’s words were forever imbedded into his brain, ready to cut deeper each time he thought back to them.

_I cannot disobey my Master, the Dark Side forbids it._

A thousand memories flooded back to moments where Luke had been certain his father loved him. He thought of all their good times and how they’d all been a lie for a man who loved his son would not then agree to kill said son simply because his Boss told him to do it.

(And Luke did his best to ignore that small voice in the back of his mind that argued Vader had not fired out when Luke had given him the option; instead he’d allowed for Luke to take his shots at the Death Star when Luke had told the man, not in an unkind way, that he’d lose both his children if he didn’t let Luke take aim. The voice argued that there was hope still for his father’s redemption and that that moment proved it— but Luke buried it down because he’d been holding onto that hope for five and a half years only for Vader to admit he would kill Luke if it came to it.)

_I cannot disobey my Master, the Dark Side forbids it._

Luke huffed, pushing those thoughts away. He wasn’t meant to dwell!

With more effort than was needed, Luke ripped off his goggles and pulled his scarf down past his chin, getting a massive slap of cold air to the face as he did so. Flecks of snow pierced his skin like tiny daggers, his teeth starting to chatter and Luke had to squint through the dim light when he reached the area where the flash of metal had been.

There was nothing there.

The Tauntaun roared once again and when Luke pulled his scarf back up over his mouth, the snow that had stuck to it in the moments that it had been down made his chin feel like an ice-cube had been rubbed against it.

“I’m sorry girl, my bad. Let’s head back.”

He patted the Tauntaun’s snow-matted fur when he felt his bond with Leia suddenly come alive, his sister reaching out to him with barely concealed concern. _‘Luke? Luke where are you?’_

_‘I’m on my way back.’_

_‘Thank the Force,’_ relief flowed through their bond and Luke twisted the Tauntaun’s reins around. In the month they’d been on Hoth, he was now far more comfortable riding the creatures but he knew that whilst they were friendly, it was not wise to test their patience. It was honestly a miracle the Tauntaun hadn’t thrown him off her back yet and stormed back to Echo Base alone. _‘A storm is brewing; they’re calling all patrollers back. Why didn’t you answer your comlink?’_

Luke thought of how he’d dropped the device and before he could pick it up, the Tauntaun had already stepped on it, breaking it in half. He scratched the back of his head in a nervous gesture.

_‘It, uh, broke.’_

If Leia were here, Luke was sure she would’ve rolled her eyes. _‘Well, just hurry back.’_

_‘Will do. I’m already on my—‘_

A loud roar broke through his thoughts and before Luke could even blink, a massive, fur-covered hand came flying out of nowhere. It hit the Tauntaun right on the side of its belly, sending the bulky creature down to the snow-covered ground below— with Luke along with it.

Luke’s head hit something hard underneath the white blanket of snow, his vision blurring for a second, and his leg made a sickening crunching sound as the Tauntaun’s body landed on top of it. Pain and panic flooded Luke’s mind as a Yeti-type creature advanced upon them. He was unable to move because of the injured Tauntaun trapping his leg and Luke felt as something warm and sticky trailed down his back.

Leia’s side of their bond was ablaze with worry and Luke distantly recognised her attempting to reach him but his brain felt fuzzy, like he was disconnected from the world around him. The crushing weight of the Tauntaun on top of him was starting to feel too much and when the dark spots in Luke’s vision started to become bigger, he welcomed the darkness with pleasant ease.

* * *

Leia sat with her eyes closed, her legs crossed and her palms facing upwards. Just like Ahsoka had shown her how to do it a month ago, Leia let the Force flow over her as her mind retreated into a meditative state.

So much had happened in the previous month before Echo Base had become the Rebellion’s next home and Leia felt that meditation was the only way to clear her mind. Luke still hated it and would tease her relentlessly for partaking in the task he considered dull but when Leia’s mind slipped away and the Force flowed over her, it was the only time that Leia truly felt peace.

And the only time she felt in control of the emotions that threatened to rise up and choke her.

_You may fire when ready._

_Our daughter will be offended that her mother keeps calling her a boy._

_For a Princess, you lack manners and respect._

_Alderaan needs to become an example._

_You have your father’s blood running through your veins— use it. But never forget that you also have your mother’s._

_LIAR!_

_There’s good in him— I know, I know there’s still . . ._

_There was no better Jedi than General Skywalker._

_Your safety is more important than anything._

_I heard him; Leia I heard Obi-Wan!_

Leia focused on Luke’s voice, pushing the darker memories from her mind as she focused solely on her brother. _I heard him; Leia I heard Obi-Wan_ , Luke’s words kept circling around in her brain and slowly a picture started to accompany her twin’s voice. Luke’s blue eyes were wide and there was an unhidden glee sparkling behind them as he recounted what he’d heard seconds before destroying the Death Star.

The celebration in response to the Rebellion’s victory had started to wane by the time Luke had pulled his sister to the back of the large hall and told her what he’d been dying to say since he’d shot those torpedo missiles. The golden medal she’d bestowed upon him as a reward for his bravery glimmered around Luke’s neck but with his wide eyes and desperate look, he’d looked much less like a Rebel hero and more like the child Leia knew him to be.

_I heard him; Leia I heard Obi-Wan!_

She’d been skeptical, questioning Luke for a long while whilst the party drew to a close. By the time Leia had finally accepted that what Luke had heard hadn’t been wishful thinking, only a handful of people out of the thousands who’d originally been there were left partying in the hall. Cups were strewn around, alcohol split and cleaning droids ushered around the final party-goers as they attempted to rectify the mess.

 _You’re sure you heard him?_ She’d asked, wanting nothing more than to believe her brother’s words. And Luke had set her with the most sincere look she’d ever seen, nodding his head and showing no deceit when he’d replied: _Without a doubt._

But after a month since Obi-Wan’s call to Luke, they had yet to hear anything else. And as much as Leia trusted and believed her brother, doubt was beginning to creep in that perhaps Luke truly had just heard what he’d wanted to hear. Or maybe it had been a memory of something Obi-Wan had once said that had resurfaced in his time of need?

She reached out to the Force for answers, searching for whatever truth she could find. _Obi-Wan? Obi-Wan?_

Silence.

Maybe Ahsoka would have some wisdom about how to reach out to someone through the Force despite distance parting you— but as Leia thought of that, she suddenly felt sad. The previous month after the events and revelation on the Death Star had not been kind to the twins relationships with Ahsoka and Rex. Both Togruta and Clone had practically gone into seclusion once the ship had touched down on Yavin IV and throughout the entire past month, Luke and Leia had only see Ahsoka once.

“ _I just need some time,_ ” Ahsoka had said when the twins had sought her out. Rex had not even answered his door. “ _I need some space.”_

Leia knew that Ahsoka and Rex felt betrayed. After all, they’d known all along what had happened to their father, the brother and friend that Ahsoka and Rex had cared for, but they’d kept it to themselves. They’d known the monster Sith who killed all without remorse had been the Jedi General who’d fought bravely beside Ahsoka and Rex throughout the war and whether with good intentions or not, keeping the truth had only hurt the elder two more.

But Leia didn’t regret it for even if it had just been a few days more, Anakin had remained a hero in Ahsoka and Rex’s eyes up until that moment on the Death Star.

_My children will not be slaves._

Leia had been thinking a lot about what Vader had said on the Death Star and how alike their anger had been. She’d been desperate to bring Alderaan, what she’d perceived to be, justice and Vader had been desperate for Luke and Leia to return to his side to help overthrow the Emperor.

For the first time in her life, Leia had understood Vader and she’d felt the kind of anger he was consumed by. It had been all-consuming, leaving no room to breath; it had been as if she’d been pushed into darkness, all lights in the room switched off with no chance to escape. _This is not justice._ But then Luke had turned a light on in the dark room and a way of exit had been illuminated.

Leia wanted to believe that redemption was out of Vader’s grasp but for the first time, she started to open herself up to the idea that perhaps Luke hadn’t been so blindly naive as she’d always thought. Luke’s kindness had often led him to believe the good in people, even when that person seemed too far gone, and Leia was starting to wonder if she should take a leaf out her brother’s book.

_There’s good in him— I know, I know there’s still . . ._

Leia pushed all thought about Vader, her mother and Luke from her mind as she prepared to reach out to Obi-Wan yet again. She wondered if perhaps he just couldn’t hear her call? Maybe the distance was too great? Or maybe he truly was—

No, Leia refused to believe it. Luke had said he’d heard Obi-Wan call out to him, alive and well, so that was what Leia was going to put her faith in. Obi-Wan was out there, she just needed to get him to hear her.

_Obi-Wa—_

The door to her quarters whooshed open, a sudden chorus of noise jolting her out of her meditative state as Threepio and Artoo waltzed in, continuing on whatever argument they’d been drawn in to yet again. Artoo was letting out a series of high-pitched beeps, sounding rather angry and when Leia opened her eyes, she saw Threepio waving his arms up and down in frustration.

“Of course I am worried, Artoo! You think that I am not, you waste of circuits? It has been an hour without contact from Master Luke!”

At the mention of her brother, Leia sat up straighter. Subconsciously she reached out to Luke through their bond, searching for any signs to worry but she was met with nothing. Luke seemed fine, albeit a little cold. (Distantly Leia recalled that it was Luke’s turn to complete a mandatory patrol around Echo Base).

“What’s the matter, Threepio?”

The golden droid looked startled, his hands moving upwards like he’d been shocked. With the droids having been by her side now for nearly two months, Leia had not known it was possible to feel so fond of them. Even when they bickered and Threepio grated on her nerves with his endless worrying and stating the odds, they’d proven to be great friends and an irreplaceable part of the small family Leia had left.

“Oh Mistress Leia! I did not see you there! Artoo and I are just worried about Master Luke, he left for patrol an hour ago but has not been answering his comlink.”

Leia wouldn’t be surprised if Luke had dropped or broken it. She didn’t let any developing fears take hold as she told herself Threepio was probably just worrying as usual.

“I’m sure he’s fine Threepio, you know Luke: he’s a klutz at times.”

Artoo beeped, making Leia frown. She was starting to understand the astromech’s binary a little more now. He was clearly worried about her twin. “I agree with Artoo,” Threepio piped up. “A storm is beginning to pick up and Master Luke has received no contact that he must return to the base soon. I fear he won’t make it back in time.”

Leia sighed, seeing where Artoo and Threepio’s fears came from. Luke could sometimes think he was invincible; Leia wouldn’t be surprised if her brother stayed out in the storm for too long that he caught some kind of sickness because he refused to end his patrol early.

Closing her eyes, Leia reached out to Luke through their bond. It took a second for him to hear and listen to her due to being distracted but once she knew she had his attention, she spoke clearly in a way no comlink ever could.

_‘Luke? Luke where are you?’_

_‘I’m on my way back.’_

Despite trying to not be rattled by Threepio’s anxious tones, Leia couldn’t help but feel relieved. For once Luke was putting his health first and not doing stupid things. _’Thank the Force. A storm is brewing; they’re calling all patrollers back. Why didn’t you answer your comlink?’_

She felt Luke’s sudden awkwardness and she was sure if he were here, he would’ve scratched the back of his head in a nervous gesture. _‘It, uh, broke.’_

Leia rolled her eyes. _’Well, just hurry back.’_

_‘Will do. I’m already on my—‘_

A sudden burst of pain flooded Leia’s mind and she couldn’t help but hunch over, making a noise stuck between a grunt and a groan. The agony was so sudden and as Leia brought her hand up to the back of her head, she was vaguely conscious of how the pain was akin to being hit with a rock. But when she pulled her hand back, there was no blood.

Artoo beeped with concern and Threepio shuffled closer. “Mistress Leia? Oh my, are you alright?”

Leia ignored the droids, focusing instead on her bond with Luke and the distress her brother was emanating through the Force. He was hurt— that much Leia knew. She could feel how his head throbbed like he’d been clubbed and she felt a faint echo of how his right leg was being crushed. A flash of fear resounded through their bond, like a muffled cry that was being screamed under a body of water, barely ahead from above the surface.

_‘Luke? Luke? Luke, reply to me! Please! Tell me you’re okay!’_

Her stomach twisted as the pain started to ebb away, Luke’s grip on consciousness was slowly fading and no matter how many times Leia called out to him through their bond, she knew her words weren’t completely reaching her brother’s mind. And then, like he’d gone to sleep, Luke’s side of their link became muffled.

“Mistress Leia! Oh, please do be alright! Perhaps I should go get a med droid?” Threepio continued to stress as Leia righted herself, her heart feeling heavy with worry. Luke was injured out in the beginnings of a snow-storm, possibly with no means to get back to the base safely.

“Threepio! Listen to me: Luke is hurt, I need to go find him,” Leia spoke with complete certainty. She didn’t even hesitate to move into action, already walking around her room and pulling on the mandatory snow gear the Rebellion had given out when Hoth had become the home of their base.Leia knew snow-storms could be deadly and with Luke unconscious and likely attacked, there would be no way he would make it out there without her help.

There was no doubt in Leia’s mind as she pushed down the fear bubbling up, slipping on her snow boots and grabbing the necessary equipment she would need: goggles, _check_ , scarf, _check_ , binoculars, _check_.

“Mistress Leia, are you sure that is wise?” Artoo beeped in agreement with Threepio, both droids watching her as she pulled on the heavy, white coat designed to trap in heat when out in the cold. Artoo rolled forwards, letting out a string of beeps which Leia knew to be him requesting to join her.

“You can’t come,” Leia spared a second to pat Artoo’s dome. She knew how protective the two droids were. Artoo, especially. He could remember Leia’s parents and she knew he would rather be taken apart than allow any harm to come to the people he’d loved’s children.

Artoo whistled sadly.

“It’s too cold, Artoo. You’ll never make it in the snow. And I need to find Luke quick before he either freezes to death or gets eaten by whatever attacked him.” The thought made Leia feel cold— and she knew it had nothing to do with the temperature.

 _No_ , she told herself. Luke would be fine. She would find him in time. They’d be back at Echo Base in no time at all, laughing over hot mugs of tea and thinking about how much of a close call it had been.

“Oh, do be careful Mistress Leia!” Threepio seemed more irate than usual. “I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to you!”

Leia was about to leave her quarters as she turned to face the droids, “Try not to snitch, okay— I’m looking at you Threepio! I’ll be back with Luke soon.” She knew would have to be careful in order to reach the Tauntaun stable without detection.

In the past month, both Leia and Luke had decided to forgo their adoptive names and take on their family moniker of Skywalker once and for all. With Vader knowing the truth and the twins realising they really did only have each other in the Galaxy, it seemed unimportant to try and hide who they were anymore.

And so they became Luke and Leia Skywalker once more.

To say the news had been shocking was an understatement and for days the entire Rebellion had been buzzing as they’d packed up Yavin IV and scouted Hoth. Word then spread to the Galaxy about how a young Luke Skywalker had been the one to destroy the Death Star and whilst the Holonet had gone wild, the twins had just basked in the glory at the fact they no longer needed to hide.

Yet even though Leia had formally taken on her birth name and embraced her heritage, she was still the beloved Princess to the people of the Rebellion and there was no way they would let her out in the storm if they knew what she was planning. So she pressed herself to walls and used the Force to cloak her presence in order to make it to the Tauntaun stable without anyone noticing.

Luke needed her help and there was no way she would return without him.

* * *

_When Luke opened his eyes, he was no longer on Hoth. The hostile iciness of the snow-planet had disappeared, replaced by a warm summer’s day. The grass underneath Luke’s feet was dewy and when he strained his ears, he could hear the soft sound of water flowing nearby._

_Naboo, Luke realised instantly._

_The more he looked around, the more he became instantly aware of where he was. He was standing in the field that surrounded his old home, the small cottage he’d grown up in just a few metres off in the distance. It was exactly as he remembered: ivy running up the walls, a small swing attached to the tree nearby and toys lodged onto the roof from where Obi-Wan had refused to remove them on principle._

_As Luke felt recognition settle in, he was comforted by the familiarity._

_“You’ve grown,” a voice oh so familiar, spoke from behind Luke. He knew instantly who he would be met with yet it was still a shock to turn and see Obi-Wan standing beside the flattened rocks they’d used to sit on for campfires._

_The man’s name slipped through Luke’s lips like a whisper or a prayer and Obi-Wan smiled, although it didn’t truly meet his eyes. “Hello, young one.”_

_“Is this real?” Luke suddenly asked, looking around the serene setting of his childhood home. He had no recollection of returning to Naboo if this really was real; the last thing he remembered was Hoth. The ice, cold and harsh on his body, pain and then nothing._

_Obi-Wan looked sombre. “Our minds are communicating through the Force. What you see, however, is all projected by your mind.”_

_Distantly Luke realised that Obi-Wan looked the same as to when Luke had last seen him: copper hair with grey starting to take over, a few wrinkles around the eyes but a healthy, youthful glow still coming from his skin. It had been six years yet Obi-Wan had not aged— or he had but Luke had yet to see his ageing therefore his projected version of Obi-Wan’s body did not correlate with his aged mind._

_“So we aren’t really on Naboo?”_

_“Unfortunately not, young one.”_

_Luke frowned, “Where’ve you been? I heard you— you called out to me a month ago! You gave me guidance and then you just disappeared! Leia’s been trying to reach out to you for a month and there’s been nothing from you. Why do you reach out to me now?”_

_“Luke, reaching out to you with the Force from the distance we are at, makes the connection straining. I do not hear your calls when you are at peace. A month ago I heard you call out for guidance because of the emotional turmoil your call was surrounded with.”_

_“But now?”_

_“You are in considerable danger Luke,” Obi-Wan’s voice grew serious and he gave Luke a look that screamed ‘i’m not playing around’. “You are injured and being preyed upon; I felt your pain through the Force. Our call from last month must have reignited the bond from childhood and I’m here to try and wake you up, young one.”_

_At Obi-Wan’s words, Luke became aware of a growing headache pooling behind his forehead. It throbbed at his temples and Luke’s right ankle started to ache like the bone was being pulled. When he focused on the pain, it smarted, but when he focused on Obi-Wan, the pain was nothing but an echo._

_Luke felt a breeze of warm air flutter through his hair. “Maybe I don’t want to wake up.” It was so much calmer here than on Hoth. There was nothing to be scared of, no father to hide from and no war looming over his head._

_Obi-Wan sighed like Luke had just said something factually incorrect. “You must, Luke. This is nothing more than a projection of your mind; a dream, if you will, that we’re both sharing. This is not reality.”_

_“Well, what good is reality?” Luke kicked at the grass. “With reality, comes pain. Here, its so quiet. So peaceful. I have nothing to fear. I don’t want to wake up and be alone again. When I wake up, you won’t be there.”_

_“You have never been alone, Luke.”_

_And Luke knew he was right. For when he’d been born, he’d lost both his mother and his father. But Obi-Wan had been there and so had Leia. And then when they’d all been separated, it hadn’t taken long before his father returned to him. And even though, now, both his father and Obi-Wan weren’t at his side, Leia was. And Luke knew she always would be._

_“Do you ever think about that day?” Luke asked suddenly, a slight hitch to his voice when he spoke._

_A softness crossed Obi-Wan’s face and he suddenly looked ten years older. “You ask me a question yet I know you know the answer. Of course I do, Luke.”_

_A child’s cry from behind him had Luke turning around once again. The cottage he’d grown up in had disappeared, replaced by acres and acres of sand and a boiling heat which seemed to burn Luke’s skin within seconds. Tatooine._

_A blonde boy was softly crying as a copper-haired man walked him down the ramp of a ship towards a homestead nearby. Luke instantly recognised both himself (as a child) and Obi-Wan. Whether this was a memory being projected from his mind or Luke was truly hallucinating to the extreme, he had no idea._

_And yet he watched the scene play out, knowing exactly what was going to happen._

_“Do you hate me?” Little Luke sobbed, his expression pulled down and his eyes filled with tears. His comment made Obi-Wan pause, the elder man looking down at the child with concern._

_“Hate you?” Obi-Wan repeated, looking horrified. “Of course not, young one. Why would you think that?”_

_Little Luke sniffed, looking around at the desert surroundings with distaste. “Because you brought me here.”_

_Obi-Wan sighed, kneeling down on the sand so he was looking the young boy in the eye. “This is not a punishment Luke, I promise you. Do you remember what I said before on Naboo? We all have to go somewhere different in order to protect you and Leia from the Empire. You have family here, they’ll look after you.”_

_“But I don’t like it here, I want to be with you and Leia.”_

_Obi-Wan looked pained. “I know, young one, I know. I don’t like this anymore than you do but this is how things need to be. Your safety is more important than anything.”_

_Older Luke watched on as Obi-Wan stood up, taking little Luke’s hand in his own once more and walking the boy towards the homestead where two people stood, waiting. He closed his eyes when he heard the younger version of himself cry out with a sudden burst of sadness. Seeing Owen and Beru had shown little Luke just how real the separation would be: it wasn’t some short-term trial or game. Leia was gone, Obi-Wan was leaving and little Luke cried because of it._

_“Please Obi-Wan! Please don’t go! I’ll be good, I’ll do my chores and I won’t complain! I won’t fight with Leia ever again! I won’t argue when you say it’s time for bed and I’ll brush my teeth without you even needing to remind me! I’ll eat my vegetables every meal time, I promise. I just want to go back and get Leia! I want to go home.”_

_The look that crossed Obi-Wan’s face was one of agony and older Luke felt the same heartbreak that his younger version was feeling when the man replied. “Luke, this is your home now.”_

_Older Luke turned away from the scene. He knew what would happen next: Obi-Wan would give his small suitcase of belongings to Uncle Owen, the Lars' would promise to care for Luke like he was their own and then Obi-Wan would kneel down on the sand once more to offer the boy he’d raised his goodbyes. (“Will we see each other again?” Little Luke would ask. And Obi-Wan would brush a tear from Luke’s face with a sombre smile that didn’t reach his pained eyes. “One day, young one. Hold on to that faith until one day.” And then Obi-Wan would leave and Luke would be left on Tatooine, the two thirds of his heart gone.)_

_“I’ve had my share of bad days,” the original Obi-Wan spoke up as Naboo once again returned, Tatooine fading away. “But the day I gave both you and Leia up was one of the worst.”_

_Luke didn’t ask what_ **_the_ ** _worst day of Obi-Wan’s life had been for he already knew._

_(“You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!”_

_“I HATE YOU!”_

_“You were my brother Anakin, I loved you!”)_

_“It was one of mine, too,” Luke admitted._

_“I fear that our time is running short,” Obi-Wan’s words were remorseful and they caused for a flash of fear to rise up in Luke. The headache started to grow even more. “You must wake up now Luke. You are in danger.”_

_“Wait!” Luke called out for Obi-Wan when the man started to back away. The sunny day on Naboo started to disappear, clouds formed in the sky and the warm breeze began to turn chilly. A shiver ran down Luke’s spine._

_“Wake up Luke. Wake up.”_

_“Obi-Wan!” He called out even though the man had almost completely disappeared into the shadows, Naboo fading away to the darkness as the bitter wind got stronger and stronger. “Where are you? Where can I find you?”_

_The pulsing headache ached as consciousness started to creep in, like being pulled ever-so-slowly from a dream as the real world became entangled with the fake one. Obi-Wan’s voice was distant, like an echo, when Luke opened his eyes to the snow planet he’d never actually left._

_It was so quiet, Luke almost didn’t hear it._

_“Dagobah.”_

* * *

Leia had experienced snow-storms countless times before in her life. Alderaan (Leia ignored the stab of pain) was known for them to occur continuously when the winter seasons hit. Normally they only happened high up in the mountains but she could remember a few times when the clouds had travelled down to hover over Aldera city and rain havoc.

Because of this, Leia knew how deadly they could be.

She’d never been allowed outside the Palace whenever a blizzard had hit, Bail had always been rather strict on that fact. And as she pushed on in the snow, the Tauntaun growling ever-so quietly, Leia tried to ignore the guilt in her chest at having left Echo Base undetected, knowing she would not have been cleared to leave had she sought permission.

“We have to keep going,” Leia patted the Tauntaun’s body, knowing full well her words were drowned out by the heavy winds. The storm was raging on: the sky was dark and filled with grey clouds, the winds had picked up in violent succession and everywhere Leia turned, there was substantial snow beating down.

Every inch of her body underneath the snow gear was frozen, her gloves were soaked through and even though it was all meant to be waterproof, the storm had proven superior. Leia squinted through the goggles, knowing they were doing no good but acknowledging if she took them off then her eyes would be bombarded with bitter winds and snow. The scarf over her face was icy and the dampness was starting to creep onto her chin, sending shivers down her spine.

 _‘Luke?’_ Even in her mind, her words were wobbly like her teeth were chattering.

Luke didn’t answer.

Leia wasn’t sure if it was because he wasn’t paying attention or because he was still unconscious. Either way, she was lost. Luke’s presence was faint but with the poor visibility and the way her mind seemed to shut down because of the cold, there was no certainty behind Leia picking a direction to move in.

The Tauntaun roared and Leia knew what she was doing was pointless. There would be no finding Luke in this storm, not unless her brother reached out to her with clear acknowledgement and guided her through the blindness.

And with the way the Tauntaun seemed to be getting slower and slower, Leia knew they didn’t have much time.

Yet she refused to go back.

_“Leia.”_

Her breath hitched, twisting around as much as she could on the Tauntaun to try and find the owner of the voice. They’d spoken to her so clearly as if they were yelling the word in her ear but no matter where Leia looked, the distinctly familiar voice was not anywhere.

 _“Leia,”_ they called again. This time louder and more clearer.

_“Leia.”_

_“Leia.”_

“Obi-Wan?” Leia let out a yell, twisting wildly in all directions to try and find the man she knew to be calling out to her. The storm continued on with its violence but to Leia, the noise was nothing but a whisper compared to her former guardian’s distinct tones. He sounded just as she remembered, kind and caring, but there was a serious note to his voice.

 _“Leia.”_

“Where are you?” She called out, wondering if this was nothing more than her losing her mind. Was this real or some kind of snow-induced hallucination?

_“Leia.”_

_“Leia,”_ this time, out in the distance, Leia saw something. A figure of a man: a mirage, almost. He didn’t look real, as such, but he looked distinctly man-like, standing out from the blizzard around him. And Leia trusted the figure with her whole heart.

 _“Leia,”_ he called out again and she didn’t hesitate to move the Tauntaun forwards, despite its whining. They moved forwards and the figure of the man moved backwards, walking through the storm with ease like he knew exactly where to go and how to get there.

 _“Leia,”_ he kept repeating her name, moving her onwards.

And then the man disappeared. Like he’d never really been there, Leia blinked and he was gone. But up ahead, barely visible through the darkness and the gloomy surroundings, was a cave. It was half hidden by the snow and seemed to be pitched up on some rocks but Leia stared at it and she _knew_.

She’d found Luke.

* * *

Hanging upside down, in what Luke now recognised to be a Wampa’s cave, was not something he would ever recommend. The blood rushed to his head, the pressure feeling like his skull was about to burst and he could hear his heartbeat thumping so loudly as if it were a drum.

Dried blood was glued to his skull and Luke distantly remembered hitting his head when he’d fallen off the Tauntaun during the Wampa’s attack. A pool of red was stark against the snow on the ground but Luke tried not to look at it lest his stomach do a twist.

His legs were stuck in some kind of ice shackles on the top of the Wampa’s caved ceiling and he could not reach the ground below to try and relieve some of the pressure hanging upside down was causing him. (Luke cursed being small— how come his father was over 6 foot yet Luke still managed to get the small genes?) His ankle felt twisted and with his entire body being subjected to gravity with no support, it hurt in ways Luke thought was unimaginable.

Yet none of the physical pain was akin to the psychological as Luke looked around the cave with wide-eyed fear. There were icicles and snow everywhere, the cave just as bitterly cold as it had been outside in the brewing storm. Skeletons decorated the Wampa’s cave, their bone remains being all that was left of the creature’s victims. Some were buried a little under the snow, in what Luke guessed was the equivalent of collecting dust, and others were fresh, sitting above the surface, forgotten.

There was a smell in the air that made Luke want to gag and when he twisted his body a little to the side, ignoring the searing pain his ankle gave out, he could see the Wampa in the corner of the cave feasting on the meaty remains of Luke’s Tauntaun. _RIP,_ Luke thought solemnly whilst a fear rose up in his chest.

If he didn’t act soon then he would be in the exact same position as his poor animal.

 _‘Luke?’_ Leia’s call in his mind filled him with both relief and pain. The blood rushing to his brain made the call ache, his headache thumping even more like a drum had been hit right beside his ear.

‘ _Leia?’_ He pushed the pain away, knowing the Wampa would be going after him for dessert soon. Never in his life would he have expected to die as some snow-Yeti’s meal. (He doubted his father would be pleased when he found out). _‘Leia, help! I’m stuck in a cave with a Wampa and he’s going to eat me like I’m some sort of human pie!’_

 _‘I think you’ll be more of a popsicle,’_ Leia shot back. _‘And don’t worry, I know. I’m here.’_

Despite the pain their connection was giving him, Luke’s head pounding as the blood continued to pool at the top of his head until he felt light-headed and like his skull was about to burst, he paused for a second. _‘You’re . . . here? What do you mean?’_

_‘Look to your right.’_

Luke did so and he felt his eyes widen when he noticed the brown haired girl ducking down behind a pile of snow for cover. Leia rose up high enough for brown eyes to meet blue and Luke realised he shouldn’t have been so worried when he’d woken up— of course Leia would be there to save him.

 _‘Oh, hey Leia,’_ Luke couldn’t help but add in some light-heartedness, watching as his sister rolled her eyes.

_‘You nerf. Only you would get attacked by a Wampa.’_

_‘Its not like I did it on purpose!’_ Luke actually felt a little offended. _‘Do you think I did this for fun? You really think I woke up this morning and thought: “hmm I know what will be sooo fun, how about I get attacked by a creature three times my height?”’_

Leia rolled her eyes again, wondering how Luke could be hanging upside down, clearly injured, and still act the way he was.

_‘Now, can you please help me get down before I, as you so kindly said, become a popsicle for this Wampa to feast on?’_

Leia pushed any further insults to the back of her mind, knowing they didn’t have much time and squabbling would do them no good. Her fingers were already starting to feel numb and she didn’t want to think about how cold Luke could be.

_‘Alright, I have a plan. Luke, you cut yourself free and I’ll distract the Wampa.’_

_‘Great plan Leia,’_ there was a sarcastic edge to Luke’s voice. _‘One key problem: if I could cut myself down, I would’ve done so by now. Do you think hanging upside down is something I enjoy?’_

Leia pulled a face. _‘Don’t you have Dad’s lightsaber?’_

_‘Oh. I forgot about that.’_

_‘Nerf!’_

Luke raised his hands up to his pockets, moving slowly so the Wampa didn’t notice he’d woken up from his unconsciousness, and patted the area of his coat where the lightsaber had been tucked up. Only to be met with nothing.

_‘Its gone!’_

_‘What do you mean its gone?’_

_‘What do you think GONE means Leia?’_

_‘It has to be somewhere!’_

Luke tried to push down the rising panic as he scanned the area around him for where his father’s lightsaber could’ve gone. It wasn’t even about the fact without it escaping would become harder, Luke felt the panic rise up as he thought about how he’d lost one of the only things he had left of his true father. Anakin’s lightsaber was all they had of the Jedi Knight their father had been and when Luke had it, he felt like he had a piece of that man with him.

No matter what happened with Vader, Anakin’s lightsaber reminded Luke that his father had once been good.

To lose it, felt like he was losing the man all over again.

‘ _There!’_ Leia’s voice cut through his mind, her yell making his temples throb. Luke glanced at her to see she was pointing off to the side and when his eyes followed her finger, he spotted the hilt of metal sticking out a pile of snow.

_‘Okay, so I use Dad’s lightsaber to break free whilst you distract the Wampa. Then what?’_

_‘We escape, duh?’_

_‘On the count of three,’_ Luke’s eyes met his sister as they prepared to put the plan in motion. _‘One, two—‘_

 _‘Three!’_ Leia shot up out of her hiding place, rolling up balls of snow in her hands as she threw snowball after snowball at the startled Wampa. He let out a roar, broken from his feast of the Tauntaun as Leia continued to throw snowballs at him with perfect aim.

At the same time, Luke called his father’s lightsaber to his hand with ease. The blue blade lit up and Luke slashed at his icy shackles, using the Force to help slow his fall so he didn’t crush his head on the way down. He landed in a heap anyway, his ankle screaming in pain and his head wound feeling like it had reopened as he struggled to his feet.

“Leia!” He threw the lightsaber at his sister when he noticed the Wampa taking charge. Luke’s vision became blurry and he stumbled slightly, feeling breathless as he watched Leia take one good swipe at the Wampa, the creature’s arm falling to the floor with a loud cry of pain.

And then Leia was running towards him, grabbing his arm and dragging him outside into the raging storm and away from the monster still yelling in pain.

“We did it!” Leia smiled as she pocketed the lightsaber, her smile disappearing when she noticed the dazed look on Luke’s face. “Luke? Luke, are you okay?”

“I—” Luke frowned, feeling like the world was spinning around him. His head hurt and he lost his balance on his ankle, the ground twisting around him until his face met freezing cold snow. Leia let out a yell above him but Luke felt as if he’d been dunked underwater. “Light-headed,” he wheezed as Leia turned him onto his back.

“Luke, hold on!” Leia cried out, knowing his injures were pushing him towards unconsciousness again. “Stay awake!”

She ran to where she’d left her Tauntaun but when she approached, her heart felt stuck in her throat. It was laying down on the ground, unmoving, as snow stuck to its fur.

Luke let out a groan and when Leia raced back to his side, feeling suddenly lost and unsure what to do, she noticed his lips were blue and his teeth had stopped chattering. “Stay awake, Luke! Don’t go to sleep!”

Perhaps she should’ve expected Luke to do the opposite of what she’d said: her brother never really listened to her.

“Luke!” Leia yelled over the howling winds, desperation creeping up. They were stuck out in the middle of the snow-storm with no mode of transport back to the base, Luke was injured and Leia knew, with a heavy heart, that by the time morning came and the snow settled, it would be too late. For them both.

 _“Leia,”_ the call of Obi-Wan was sounded over the storm once again, his words loud like he was speaking directly into her mind. As she kneeled over Luke’s body, the snow beginning to half-bury them both with the storm’s intensity, Leia didn’t even try to look for where Obi-Wan could be.

_“Leia. The Tauntaun. Find warmth in the Tauntaun.”_

“What?”

Obi-Wan’s voice kept repeating that statement, not giving up no matter how loud the storm became and how confused Leia felt. _“Find warmth in the Tauntaun.”_

And then the words clicked in her brain, remembering something Bail had said years ago when she’d first experienced a snow-storm on Alderaan. He’d told her a quick way to survival in the freezing cold if an animal was nearby and Leia had upturned her nose, stating she would never do that because the very action was disgusting.

But as she looked to where Luke lay unconscious, snow piling up on him no matter how many times she brushed it off, Leia knew: disgusting or not, she had no choice.

It took longer than she liked to admit to half-drag, half-carry her brother to the poor Tauntaun and even longer for her to gain the courage to light up her Dad’s lightsaber and do the disgusting action. Yet, before long, they found warmth inside the creature. The smell was nauseating and Leia knew she would not be able to get the stench out of her hair for weeks but she couldn’t deny it was warm and Luke’s presence in the Force seemed to solidify.

As Leia closed her eyes, the fatigue pulling her into unconsciousness, she thought she heard the faint sound of snow crunching under someone’s boot.


	29. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to update! I'm debating about making updates weekly from now on considering my work-load has doubled but I promise this story will be seen until the end! Please enjoy! :)

It was like being underwater— that was the only way Luke could imagine the situation.

He was unconscious, Luke knew that, and it was like being stuck underwater, the depths underneath him being the peacefulness of sleep and the surface of the water being the land of the living (as Leia would call it). He’d keep swimming up, trying to break through the surface of water and he’d hear voices above him, their words coxing him to finally wake up.

But then Luke would grow tired, his legs would stop kicking and he’d float back down into the depths of sleep. The voices would fade away into whispers and darkness would once again wrap around his mind until he knew nothing.

And no matter how close Luke seemed to get to the surface, his head threatening to break through and overcome the urge to succumb back to the peacefulness of sleep, he never found enough strength to do it.

“It was really touch and go for a while—” the voice of a droid spoke above the surface, the depths of sleep already calling out for Luke to return to them. “But they’re both stable now.”

“Thank you, Emdee—” Ahsoka’s voice caused Luke to fight the urge of the depths trying to pull him back down. “We can’t thank you enough—”

Luke’s legs stopped kicking and he floated back down, sleep wrapping around him like a blanket as darkness overcame his mind once again. As Luke drifted off, he felt nothing but peace.

And then Luke was rising up once again, trying to break through the surface as he heard a mix of voices.

“I’m worried—” Rex, Luke realised. “Shouldn’t they have woken up by now? What if there’s something wrong that Emdee missed?”

It was Ahsoka who replied. “We can’t think like that. They’ll wake up— they have to.”

“And what if they don’t?”

Luke didn’t hear Ahsoka’s reply, if she even gave one, for he’d already fallen back into the comfort of unconsciousness.

The next time Luke’s mind was jolted awake and he was pushed upwards, his legs kicking to try and break the surface, it was because of a voice that Luke knew was not coming from up above. The waters around him trembled and his father’s voice sounded clearer than anything Luke had heard above the surface of consciousness.

_‘Luke . . . Luke . . .’_

_‘Father,’_ Luke called back, his words sounded muffled as the water around him distorted his voice. He stopped kicking to try and break the surface, floating instead between the space of consciousness and the depths of sleep.

_‘Son, I felt your pain . . .’_

_‘Father—‘_

_‘Tell me where you are Son . . .’_

_‘Father!’_

_‘Luke, tell me where you are!’_

The depths wrapped around his ankles, pulling him down, down, down, towards unconsciousness as his father’s voice faded away as if it had never even been there.

Luke was rising up again, a new-found strength surging him upwards as he swam towards the surface. He would break it this time, Luke knew it.

“—keep wondering about what if,” Rex’s voice seemed louder than usual. “What if Artoo and Threepio hadn’t come barging into my room and told me they’d gone missing? What if I hadn’t found them in time? What if I hadn’t found them at all? I can’t even imagine—“

“So don’t,” Ahsoka’s voice was hard and for a second Luke stopped trying to break the surface. “You found them Rex and you brought them back. They’ll be okay, because of you.”

“I know, I know; I just—“

“Worry, I know. I do too.”

They both sounded so sad and Luke felt his fight drain away as he sunk back down to the depths of unconscious. Sleep welcomed him like an old friend, wrapping around his mind as tight as it could.

It was an unfamiliar voice that pulled Luke out of the depths of unconsciousness but something deep in his bones told him he _should_ know who this person was— even if he had no clue. The speaker was distinctly female and Nubian by the sounds of their accent and as Luke rose upwards towards the surface, he wondered if he was dreaming.

“—this is them? Luke and Leia Skywalker? The former Princess and the boy who destroyed the Death Star?”

It was Rex who replied. “Yes. There was an incident a day ago but Emdee says they’re on the road to recovery.”

“They haven’t awoken?” The woman sounded sad and Luke felt the urge to wake up and wrap his arms around her for some reason.

“Not yet,” Ahsoka’s voice was tight and the closer Luke got to the surface, the more he felt the urge to break free. “But Emdee doesn’t think it’ll be much longer. We have faith.”

“I see the resemblance,” another woman replied; she sounded younger than the first, her Nubian accent slightly accentuated by the professional tone of her voice. It reminded Luke when Leia went from sister to Princess in the blink of an eye. “Mom, it has to be them. I know it.”

The first woman sounded emotional when she replied and her voice was thick with tears. “I can’t believe it. After all these years, its actually true—“

Luke’s head was just about to break the surface, the depths of sleep fading further and further away when he heard his father call out once more. The waters trembled and Luke’s legs stopped kicking immediately, the voices above the surface fading away as his father bombarded his consciousness.

_‘Luke!’_

_‘Father—‘_

_‘Come back to me, Son . . .’_

Luke didn’t know why he said it but the second he did, he knew it to be the truth. _‘I can’t.’_

_‘You must!’_

The waters trembled even more, like Luke was in a jar that was being violently shaken. _‘You must! You must!’_ The words bombarded Luke and his fight gave out, looking upwards to where the surface seemed to be getting further and further away. Sleep grabbed his legs and pulled him back down to the safety of the darkness it provided.

 _‘Let me go,’_ he whispered just as his mind went back under.

When he woke again, it was to Ahsoka’s voice. _You can do it_ , Luke told himself as he kicked wildly to the surface up above. _It’s time to wake up now_.

“He looks just like Anakin, doesn’t he,” Ahsoka sounded morose but Luke refused to let his fight give way. He kicked harder, ignoring how his muscles ached and the urge for sleep became overwhelming. The depths called out to him but Luke ignored it.

“—its crazy how acute the resemblance is: the hair, the eyes, the chin . . .”

“General Skywalker’s hair was never quite so blonde,” Rex sounded louder than he ever had as Luke kept pushing towards the surface. _Wake up, come on, wake up._

“Master Kenobi once said that Anakin’s hair was the colour of the sun when he was a kid, I can only assume it grew darker with age. I suppose the same will happen to Luke.”

“I . . . I still can’t believe, you know, what happened to the General— and who he is now.”

“Anakin always did have a lot of anger in him but I never would’ve believed he was capable of becoming what he is. All of the good he did, all of the people he helped . . . what was it for? Three years he fought for the Republic, only to help in destroying it completely. All those battles, the years of fighting and the injuries he sustained, what was the point? He was a good person but all of that is undermined by what he became.”

“The good is right in front of us,” Rex’s voice started to grow quieter and Luke knew his fight was giving out. His legs were tiring and his head was starting to ache and the call from the depths was too hard to ignore. “Luke and Leia are the proof that the good man General Skywalker had been, existed. They’re the testament to his greatness; they’re his legacy.”

The darkness was just wrapping around Luke, the sleep threatening to pull him under when a call from above had him struggling to break free. _‘Luke . . .’_ Leia’s voice was calming and it cut through the depths that tried to rein him in and pull him towards sleep. _‘Luke . . .’_ his sister called again as Luke swam with new-found resilience towards the surface.

_‘Luke . . .’_

His head broke free through the surface, the clutches of unconsciousness fading away as Luke returned to the land of the living. Blinking open his eyes, Luke cringed as a bright light invaded his irises. He let out a tiny groan, feeling all the aches and bruises littering his body at the same time. It was like being pulled from a long nap, his mind feeling groggy as he slowly took everything in.

“Hey nerf,” Leia’s voice was low and it helped coax down the rising confusion. “Welcome to the land of the living, its good to have you back.”

Luke groaned yet again, taking in the area around him. He was in the medical bay on Hoth, swamped down by a hoard of blankets and there was a thick bandage wrapped around his forehead. An IV was stuck in his arm but Luke elected to ignore that fact in favour of not passing out yet again.

“What happened?” His voice was hoarse but Leia seemed to understand what he’d said.

“You don’t remember?” Leia frowned. As Luke looked at his sister sitting on the edge of his medical bed, he became aware of the fact she was the only one in the room. The voices of Ahsoka, Rex and the two woman floated around in Luke’s mind and he wondered if he’d dreamt of all that up.

It was like smoke, each time Luke reached out to grab it and remember the words that had been spoken, it slipped right through his fingers.

“I was attacked,” the memory hit Luke just like the Wampa had: with full-force. He could remember being cold— very, very cold— and his head hitting something so hard that warm blood had matted itself in his hair. His leg had been crushed by the injured Tauntaun and the roar of the Wampa echoed in Luke’s mind like the crack of a whip.

His hand reached up to feel the back of his head, his bones feeling stiff to move, as he gently touched the bandage where the healing wound lay beneath. It felt sore and he had a slight headache but as Luke remembered the pain he’d been in, in the Wampa’s cave, he knew this was nothing to complain about. Even his ankle felt better, albeit a little sore.

“By a Wampa,” Leia nodded; to anyone else, they would say she looked passive and cold but although her face looked emotionless, Luke could see the swarm of sadness and relief in her eyes. She was happy he was awake but upset that he’d been hurt.

“You sustained a head-wound and a broken ankle,” Leia carried on, her voice never faltering even though Luke knew she wanted nothing better than to cry. “Coupled with the hypothermia, you were a right mess.”

Luke scoffed at her words, a small grin weaving its way onto his face. “What about you? Were you hurt?”

Luke could remember being upside down in that cave, the blood rushing to his head and his ankle searing with pain. He could remember the horrible smell that had wafted around the cave and how there had been skeletons decorating the snowy floor and Luke had wondered if his would’ve been the next addition.

But then Leia had arrived and Luke had just been hit with the realisation that he should’ve known that she would’ve come to his rescue— of course she would’ve, she always did!

_Luke, hold on! Stay awake! Stay awake, Luke! Don’t go to sleep! Luke!_

His sister shook her head, a small smile crossing her face even though it didn’t reach her eyes. “No, I just had mild hypothermia, according to medics.”

“So how did we get back?” Luke frowned, knowing that whilst it was unwise to underestimate his sister, it was also implausible to actually believe she’d managed to drag his unconscious body back to Echo Base with little to no difficulties.

“Rex found us,” Leia admitted. “Threepio snitched, which is probably for the best since his blabbermouth wiring was what saved our lives.”

Luke chuckled, sending a silent thank you to the droids. “So how long was I out for?”

“Three days,” Leia shrugged, like it was no big deal.

“ _Three_ _days_?!” He didn’t even know how to process that information. It wasn’t that three days was an exceptionally long time in the grand scale of things but to Luke it felt like a century. For three days he’d been laying in this medical bed, unresponsive to the Galaxy around him. It was the longest he’d ever been out cold for and Luke suddenly realised why Ahsoka and Rex had sounded so worried in his dream-like state.

“I woke up a day ago,” Leia carried on, either ignoring Luke’s mini-crisis or being oblivious to it. If Luke knew his twin, and he did, it was most likely the former. “Ahsoka and Rex should be back soon, I forced them to go get lunch since they’ve barely eaten the entire time we’ve been in the med-bay.”

Luke just nodded, still unable to comprehend the fact he’d been unconscious for three whole days.

“Who were the women who came in before— I don’t know exactly when. You know, the two Nubian women?”

Leia looked at her brother like he were crazy. (Which, honestly, Luke felt like at the moment). “Two women? I don’t know what you mean? I haven’t seen any—“

The doors to the med-bay opened and before Luke could even properly blink, Ahsoka had rushed to his side and carefully thrown her arms around his shoulders. Over Ahsoka’s shoulder, Luke could see Rex standing in the doorway with a look akin to pure relief on his face.

“Luke!” Ahsoka sounded just as relieved as Rex looked. “Thank the Force, you’re okay! We were starting to get a little worried that you weren’t waking up.”

After a month of having no contact between Ahsoka and Rex, it felt weird to suddenly have their attention once again. Luke almost didn’t know how to act. “Uh, yeah, I’m fine. Sorry if we, uh, scared you.”

“Don’t make a habit of it, kid,” Rex’s voice was teasing and it coaxed a small smile out of Luke. The Clone then turned to Leia with a heavy frown. “I thought you were told to take it easy?”

“I’m just sitting on Luke’s bed!”

“You’re meant to be resting in your own bed, Leia; not walking around the room and putting a strain on yourself.”

“How is walking around the room putting a strain on me?” Leia scoffed, receiving an annoyed look from Rex. The man mumbled something about Skywalker genes being the death of him but didn’t push the argument any further.

“How do you feel Skyguy junior?” Ahsoka’s smile was just as Luke remembered it being— he almost forgot that they hadn’t spoken in a month. Luke didn’t realise just how much he’d missed Ahsoka’s warmth and the way she just accepted him as family. After so long when it had just been him, Obi-Wan and Leia, to just him and his father, it was nice to have more people looking out for you.

Never being much of a good liar, Luke opted for the truth. “Uh, like I was run over by a speeder.” His words caused Rex to chuckle.

“Don’t worry, kid, that should pass soon. During the War I was knocked out for five days and when I woke up, I felt very much the same as I’m sure you do now.”

Luke felt relieved to know how he was feeling wasn’t uncommon. There was something so trusting about Rex’s words that seemed to calm him down.

“So . . .” Luke cleared his throat, wondering if he should leave the Bantha in the room or address it. He had no idea if this conversation had already been engaged between Leia and the two adults but to Luke, he was none the wiser. “With what happened on the Death Star—“

“Forget it,” Ahsoka cut in before Luke could go any further. “These past few days have put a lot of things into perspective for Rex and I.”

“We treated you and your sister unfairly, kid,” Rex added in, the same apologetic look in his eyes that Ahsoka sported.

“We understand now that the reason you didn’t tell us about . . . what happened to Anakin was because you wanted to preserve and protect the memories we had of him before we knew what he’d become. Leia told us that you neither of you wanted our love for your father to be tainted.”

Luke glanced towards where Leia sat on the side of his bed. Her head was down and she was looking at her hands, a small frown creasing with her eyebrows. Luke knew that withholding the truth had been more on Leia’s part for she’d wanted Ahsoka and Rex’s memories of Anakin to remain alive. It filled Luke with hope that Leia had admitted that; normally she would wrap herself up with defence after defence when faced with being vulnerable to anyone besides him.

The fact Leia had admitted that simple fact meant she trusted Rex and Ahsoka. And Luke knew he trusted them too.

“We’re sorry we lied,” Luke whispered, unable to hold back on the apology.

“It was a bitter pill to swallow,” Rex admitted, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. There was a heavy burden weighing in his eyes, the kind of look one would get when they got wrapped up in a grief they couldn’t shake. It was a look Luke was far too familiar with. “But we shouldn’t have taken our pain or surprise out on you.”

“I— _we_ just needed some space,” Ahsoka’s eyes went down and Luke could still sense the pain wrapped around her. “To process. But I mourned Anakin for sixteen years and I’ve come to realise that nothing has really changed: my brother is still dead. That Sith is not him— it couldn’t be. Vader is too cruel to be Anakin so all along I was right: the Sith did kill my older brother that night of the Jedi Purge . . . just in a different way.”

The words struck a cord with Luke and for a second he thought he was a young child again, sitting in his living room on Naboo as Obi-Wan told them the story about what had happened to their father. There was denial and delusion in Ahsoka’s voice, just like it had been in Obi-Wan’s.

Neither wanted to admit that the brother they’d loved was capable of becoming what he now was. To Obi-Wan, Anakin had died on the molten-lava planet of Mustafar. Or possibly even before then: when he’d bent his knee in front of a Sith.

It was a coping technique to separate the two men: Vader and Anakin; good and bad. Luke was sure that had Obi-Wan believed even a tiny part of the brother (and somewhat son) he’d loved had still been alive, he would not have left him to die in a pit of fire— or even fought him at all.

There had been a job to do: to kill the Sith— and Obi-Wan had told himself the Sith Lord, Vader, had killed his best friend in order to do what needed to be done.

And Luke knew that it must be hard to see a good man fall.

But he knew better, in the same way that Leia was starting to open her eyes to the truth, he knew it wasn’t as simple. It wasn’t the matter of good or bad, Sith or Jedi, Vader or Anakin . . . they were the same person, a mixture of both and Luke knew that his father, his real father, was alive. He’d seen it. He’d felt it. Things weren’t as black and white as Obi-Wan and Ahsoka forced themselves to believe and Luke knew that whilst the darkness was in charge, calling all the shots and reigning supreme inside of his father, the good had survived as well.

It was slight and it was small but it existed and that fact alone meant Anakin was still alive.

_I cannot disobey my Master, the Dark Side forbids it._

For a month, Luke had been pushing his father’s words from his mind and trying to make sense of how a man he’d believed loved him could admit such an atrocious thing. Vader had promised that should Luke, and subsequently Leia, choose for the last time to not return then he would be forced to kill them. And that he would offer no mercies.

The words had gone round and round in his head but then Luke paused.

_If you shoot me down and you let the Death Star take aim on Yavin IV then Leia will die— you’ll lose both your children and if you are capable with losing that then go ahead: shoot me down._

He’d said that to his father as the last seconds had ticked for the Rebellion to gain a win. He’d offered his father an ultimatum and given him the opportunity to do what he’d promised only seconds before. But his father had not taken that shot.

Whether through hesitation or simply because he couldn’t bring himself to do it, Vader had not shot Luke down and because of that, the Death Star was no more and the Rebellion had taken the victory. As Luke thought back to that moment, he realised that, intentional or not, Vader had chosen for his children to live in that moment.

If it had been any other Rebel, Luke knew his father would’ve shot them down minutes before. The Death Star would’ve taken aim on Yavin IV and the Rebellion would be no more; darkness would reign supreme and Luke knew his father would’ve rejoiced in that win.

But it hadn’t been any other Rebel in that star-fighter: it had been Luke.

And Vader had let him live. And he’d let the Rebels take their win so that his new-found daughter on the planet being threatened would live as well.

So Luke knew that whilst it was still extremely complicated and he could be dangerously naive, he elected to believe that it wasn’t as black and white as what Ahsoka was saying now. His father had put Luke and Leia above the Empire and the Dark Side’s bidding— a very un-Sith like thing to do. But a very Anakin-like thing.

Hope resumed in Luke’s heart and he knew that after a month of doubting, his father was still alive. And whether Ahsoka would prefer to live in denial or not, Luke knew it to be fact.

“But don’t think that you’re not in trouble,” Ahsoka suddenly cut Luke out of his thoughts, a more serious look plastered onto her face. “You nearly died Luke and that is something both Rex and I take seriously!”

Luke spluttered. “I didn’t want to get attacked! It wasn’t exactly on my to-do list! I was just doing my mandatory patrol!”

“You should’ve been more aware of your surroundings,” Ahsoka frowned. “How come you did not sense the Wampa approaching?”

“I was distracted, I guess,” Luke shrugged.

“Either way, you were both reckless. Luke, you should’ve returned to base the second your comlink broke— you were completely out of range and unable to be contacted. And Leia, you should’ve asked for help in finding Luke than gone alone. This situation could’ve ended in a much more depressing way had you two not been so lucky.”

 _‘Lucky?’_ Luke shot through his bond with Leia. _‘I passed out face-down in the snow; how is that lucky?’_

 _‘Well, you’re alive aren’t you?’_ Leia retaliated back.

“Okay, okay,” Luke decided to concede. “We really are sorry, we acted first and thought second. Thank you for saving our skins.”

“You should thank your droids, kid,” Rex patted Luke’s leg with a small smile. “They’re the ones who actually did the reasonable thing and went for help.”

Leia frowned. “Where is Threepio and Artoo? I haven’t seen them since I woke up. Are they alright?”

Ahsoka and Rex shared a look, something unreadable in their expressions. Leia guessed they looked slightly uncomfortable but she wasn’t entirely sure. “Ahsoka? Rex?” She pressed, feeling worry creep up. _Please let the droids be okay._ “Where’s Threepio and Artoo?”

Rex cleared his throat, “Uh, they’re entertaining some guests, kid.”

“Guests?”

“Those Nubian women,” Luke clicked his fingers together, his eyes widening. Leia gave him a look that screamed ‘ _have you lost your mind_ ’ but he ignored her. He’d known that he hadn’t made that up! Two women had visited the twins, Luke was sure of it!

Ahsoka looked startled, a heavy frown coming across her face as she regarded Luke. “How did you know that?”

“I, uh, heard them— kinda.”

“Wait, so its true?” Leia looked confused. “Luke isn’t losing his mind? Two Nubian women came to see us? Why?”

Rex cleared his throat yet again, his eyes darting to Ahsoka. “Uh, maybe we should possibly let them explain?”

Both Ahsoka and Rex stood up. “Yes, two women have come to see you— but there’s nothing be worried about, this will be a good thing, I promise.” Ahsoka paused, a sad look coming across her face. “Actually . . . there’s something else as well. Rex and I have been assigned on a mission by the Rebellion but we’ll only be gone for a few days.”

“We tried to delay it until you were recovered properly but . . . the Rebellion is insistent we leave sooner rather than later,” Rex sighed, looking morose.

The news wasn’t nice to hear but Leia had expected it. Rex and Ahsoka were invaluable to the Rebellion and their services would forever be needed. If anything, Leia knew she was lucky that they’d been able to delay it long enough until both her and Luke had woken up.

“We understand,” Luke nodded, his smile not reaching his eyes. “Duty calls. When will you be off?”

“Within the hour.”

“Oh . . . so soon,” Leia cleared her throat. “Anything you can tell us about where you’ll be going?”

“We’re just following some intel, nothing special. A few mercy missions and scouting for possible next bases. Nothing fun. Trust us, kid, we’d rather be here with you two.”

Leia forced on a smile, knowing that whilst she didn’t want them to go, she couldn’t force them to stay either. They all had a job to do for the Rebellion and sometimes that meant small separations were needed. “We’ll be reunited soon, you said you’d be gone for a few days?”

“At max, Leia, I promise,” Ahsoka seemed to understand how the twins were feeling. “But in the mean time, be good and don’t cause your two guests any trouble. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Alright.”

They had a brief goodbye, the surprise at Ahsoka and Rex’s departure mingling away to sadness as they hugged for what they knew would not be the last time. “We’ll be back before you know it,” Rex ruffled Luke’s hair.

“Be good,” Ahsoka warned, pointing a finger at Luke and Leia as they walked out of the room. “We all know Threepio will snitch if you don’t behave.”

Just as she said it, the droids, accompanied by two women, walked into the med-bay. Rex hung back by the doorway and Ahsoka gave the twins one last calming smile before leaving the room with the Clone. Threepio and Artoo wasted no time in rushing forwards but the two women hung back, looking anxious.

“Master Luke! Mistress Leia! Oh my! I am so glad that you’re alright! Artoo and I were so worried when Captain Rex brought you back and you looked so cold!”

Leia couldn’t help but smile as Artoo whistled a thousand times, his beeps clearly filled with joy. “It’s good to see you too Threepio, I’m sorry if we scared you.”

“Thanks for snitching as well,” Luke patted the astromech’s dome as he looked upon Threepio with fondness. “We wouldn’t be here without your worrisome coding, Threepio.”

“You had just been gone for so long, Master Luke! And Artoo decided it was time we tell someone of Mistress Leia’s departure—“ Artoo beeped in angry succession, obviously disagreeing. “Do not lie Artoo! It was you who suggested we tell Captain Rex about Master Luke and Mistress Leia being gone! You practically pushed me towards his quarters!”

Artoo let out another string of beeps, making Threepio even more irate. “Why you useless sack of bolts—“

“Okay guys,” Leia cut into their argument with much amusement. “Whoever it was who decided to snitch, we’re very grateful. We’re lucky that you have our backs.”

Artoo’s beeps were softer this time and Threepio relaxed his arms. “Artoo and I are lucky to have you both too, Mistress Leia.”

“Funny droids you have,” the younger of the two women spoke up. She had soft brown hair that was naturally curly and fell down her back in an effortless way; she was rather small and petite, just like the twins, and she had warm, brown eyes that stood out on her pretty face.

When Leia made eye contact with the woman, who could only be in her early twenties judging by her youthful complexion, a jolt of recognition went straight through her. A smile, if a bit of a confused one, spread across her face. “Pooja!”

It was a surprise to see her here yet a welcome one.

“Hello Leia,” Pooja’s smile was small but her face seemed to light up as she regarded the younger teenage girl. She nodded calmly in the direction of the twins and even though she was not dressed in her Senate finest, she still had all the grace of a great Senator. “It’s good to see you again.”

 _‘You know her?’_ Luke shot across their bond, his confusion seeming to double as Leia recognised one of the women standing before them.

_‘Of course! That’s Pooja Naberrie; she’s the Senator of Naboo. I met her when I was twelve and shadowing Bail, we became friends.’_

“What are you doing here?” Leia couldn’t help but ask as the shock of seeing her friend here started to fade. It wasn’t that Pooja was a keen lover of the Empire (in fact, Leia knew that the Senator hated it) but Pooja, unlike Bail Organa and several other Senators in the Imperial Senate, played it safer than most. She never crossed paths with the Rebellion despite being a secret supporter of it.

To be here, on Hoth, where the Rebellion was currently stationed, was so out of character for Pooja to do. Whatever the reason for her being here, Leia knew it had to be big.

Pooja was practically risking her job _and_ her life by being on this planet.

“I actually came to see you,” Pooja spoke with poise, keeping her head up straight even though her eyes were brewing up a storm. The twins could sense a lot of conflict and unease within her but neither of them could figure out why.

“To see . . . me?” Leia frowned.

It had been several years but Leia could still remember the first time she’d met Pooja Naberrie. She’d been sitting at Bail’s desk, watching as her adoptive father worked and falling in and out of day-dreams about what her life as a Senator would entail. And then Pooja had come in, fresh faced and something kind in her eyes as she’d handed Bail some documents. Leia could still remember looking at Pooja and thinking they looked slightly alike.

 _“Have you met my daughter, Senator? Leia, this is the Senator of Naboo.”_ Bail’s voice had been as professional as ever, a slight smile upon his face as he’d introduced the two.

They’d been fast friends after that, always exchanging words whenever they met again and managing to bond despite the little time they’d spent together. They’d always seemed to have the same interests and philosophies and getting along had been just as easy as breathing.

But for Pooja to come all the way out to Hoth to see Leia still seemed a little . . . odd.

There was more to this, Leia knew that.

“First, I just want to offer my condolences,” Pooja’s voice was sad and Leia could see the heartbreak written across her face. It was sadness for the people of Alderaan and sadness for her, because of what she’d gone through. “I feared for you after I heard about the Palace attack . . . and then after Alderaan— I can’t even imagine Leia . . .”

 _Condolences_ , Leia had heard that word so many times in the past month. _I’m so sorry for your loss,_ people have said to her; _what happened was a travesty._ They’d look at her with such pity; _may you find peace._

But when Pooja said it, Leia knew she was only saying it because she cared. Not because she felt she had to or because she was attempting to patronise her or suck up. Pooja really cared.

So Leia just nodded, swallowing the lump that never failed to rise in her throat. She felt Luke send her a wave of support through the Force and Artoo beeped by her side. “I’m managing,” she admitted. Because it was true. The loss of Alderaan was still a large hole in her heart that she knew would never be filled— she would always see that green laser in her nightmares and hear the cries of her people when she is jolted awake.

But the pain was starting to go from anger to acceptance. Alderaan was gone but it was forever alive in Leia’s memories.

“Did you come all this way to check on Leia?” Luke crossed his arms over his chest and even though his face was passive, Leia could hear the subtle accusation behind it. He was wary— and rightly so.

“Not exactly,” Pooja didn’t offer much after that but she stepped forward with a smile on her face. “We haven’t been introduced: I’m Pooja Naberrie. And this is my mother, Sola.”

Luke had figured the elder woman must’ve been Pooja’s mother, they looked too alike not to be. But there was subtle differences between the pair: Sola’s hair was darker than her daughter’s (although there were shots of grey seeping up from the roots) and she didn’t have those natural curls. Her face was longer and her eyebrows a little more arched but they had the same warm, brown eyes that reminded Luke a lot of Leia’s own.

In fact, as Luke looked a little more closely, he noticed more and more similarities between his twin and these two women.

He nodded his head in greeting, refusing to let his guard down. “Luke Skywalker.”

“Skywalker,” the elder woman, Sola, hummed in thought. “The Holonet has been going wild about you for the past month.”

“All good things, I hope?”

A small smile crept onto Sola’s face but it didn’t reach her eyes. Luke could sense a deep heartbreak within the elder woman, mixed in with feelings of joy and anticipation. It was like she was waiting for something. “Good isn’t the word I would use.”

“You’ve become infamous,” Pooja added with a little bit of pride. “Its been a long time since the name Skywalker has been on the Holonet. Its nice to see it again.”

 _‘Looks like you’ve got yourself a couple of fans,’_ Leia teased her brother over their bond. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Luke’s cheeks turned a pink colour and it took all of Leia’s willpower not to laugh. No doubt Pooja and her mother would think she were crazy if she started laughing without apparent cause.

_‘Shut up, you nerf.’_

Luke sat up a little straighter on his medical bed, keeping his shoulders squared and trying to look older than just the tender sixteen years that he was. “I was only doing my duty, ma’am.”

Sola hummed again, a thoughtful look crossing her face. Her eyes glassed over and when she spoke, it was like she was in some sort of trance as she voiced her thoughts out loud. “You remind me a lot of your father.”

“Mom!” Pooja hissed, giving her mother a glare that snapped her out of her trance-like state.

Luke’s mouth fell open and he couldn’t help but stare at the elder woman with shock. He spluttered for a second, his words coming out garbled. “You knew our father?!”

 _‘How did she know Dad?’_ Luke asked his sister through their bond, his confusion displayed loud and clear.

_‘Maybe she used to be a Jedi?’_

_‘But she isn’t Force-sensitive!’_

_‘I don’t know then!’_ Leia became frustrated. From the second Pooja had walked through the med-bay doors, Leia found all her questions being doubled and no answers being given in return. Even Artoo and Threepio seemed a little confused if their silence was anything to go by.

Sola hummed, oblivious to her daughter’s reprimand. “Oh yes, I met him once. Back when he was a Padawan.”

Luke found himself leaning forward, his eyes widening as he grabbled for whatever information Sola could give him. It was interesting to get an outside point of view when the only people who’d ever told him about the Jedi his father used to be were those who’d been so close that they’d ignored his faults.

“What was he like?”

Pooja narrowed her eyes slightly at her mother, a warning in her voice. “Mom—“

Sola ignored it, however. “He was young and headstrong,” there was a fond look in her eye as she recalled a time that felt like only yesterday. “And very brave. There was a deep passion in him. He cared very much: about those around him and the Galaxy as a whole.”

 _‘Sounds like you,’_ Luke sent to his sister, receiving an eye roll in retaliation.

“I can tell that your both very much like him, in some regards.”

Sola’s words had no hidden malice nor any snark. They were pure and she meant it as a compliment. Her eyes were warm and they seemed to become softer when they rested upon Luke and Leia, like she was seeing something in them or being reminded of people long gone.

It was like she were looking into their souls, seeing things hidden behind the surface.

“Thank you Ms Naberrie—”

“May I ask,” Sola interrupted without hesitation, a more serious look coming across her face. “Who was your mother?”

Leia couldn’t help but frown, wondering why something like that mattered so much to this woman. So what, she’d met their father once and now she believed she was entitled to know every little thing about their lives?

When the twins had taken on their Skywalker’s names, deciding to forgo the lies, they’d decided not to yell from the rooftops about who their mother had been. It wasn’t exactly hard to piece it together, given their parents’ closeness and Leia’s uncanny resemblance to Padme. But the situation of revealing themselves to be Jedi’s children was already complicated enough without confirming the fact they were also the son and daughter of a former Queen and Senator.

And anyway, for all the Galaxy knew, the child Padme Amidala had been carrying had died with her.

Leia tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice when she replied. Bail had once said she was open book: when she got angry, the whole Galaxy knew it. But Leia had since learned how to school her emotions and keep her face passive.

“I don’t really think that’s any of—“

“It was Padme Amidala, wasn’t it?”

Whilst it wasn’t exactly a secret who their mother had been, it was still rather odd that this so-called stranger seemed to just _know_ the truth. Because Sola did know, everything about her expression and the way her voice didn’t tremble screamed that she knew what she’d said to be true.

There was no doubt in Sola’s mind and the twins didn’t have the heart to try and lie.

Luke’s mouth opened and closed several times in shock, blinking excessively. “How did you—“

“I remember the day of her funeral like it was yesterday,” Sola sounded slightly distant, her eyes misted and there was a deep pain in her voice. Neither of the twins failed to notice how Pooja sniffled as well, reaching a hand out to clasp her mother’s in a sign of comfort.

“When she died, I felt my heart break. When I received that call and I heard the words be said, everything just seemed to freeze. Nothing seemed to make sense, the world seemed to become bleaker and time just _stopped_. I thought it had to be some cruel trick— some nightmarish fever dream that I was trapped in, unable to break free or escape.

But then her body was brought home,” tears started to roll down Sola’s cheeks and her body shook with uncontrolled sobs. “And it was real— oh my, it was real. My worst nightmare had been realised and the nightmarish fever dream became my reality. There would be no waking up. No happy endings.”

One of Sola’s hands shakily rose up to her chest as she took a second to compose herself, drawing in deep breaths. When she spoke again, her voice shook but the sobbing had ended.

“And then a month ago, I heard the name I’d never expected to hear ever again: Skywalker. I saw your faces on the Holonet and I just _knew_. I knew who you were— my gut told me and there was no room for any doubt in my mind.”

“It took a while to find the Rebellion,” Pooja added, wiping away a few tears of her own. “But we came as soon as we could. We just had to see you.”

It felt as if time had frozen for a second, Sola’s words replaying over and over in Leia’s mind as she tried to grasp what had just been uttered. There was a confession in those words, a truth hidden between the lines and Leia heard it loud and clear. So did Luke.

“You were her sister,” Leia spoke it as a statement for she knew it was true. Sola was far older than their mother would ever be, grey had started to take over her roots and there were wrinkles lining her face, but the similarities between the sister’s remained. Similarities that Leia herself had inherited: the brown hair, the eyes, the petite figure . . .

Padme Naberrie.

Sister.

Aunt.

Cousin.

 _‘We have family on our mother’s side,’_ even through their bond, Leia sounded breathless. It took a second to process what they’d learned— that the women standing before them was their Aunt and their Cousin. That the girl Leia had known for nearly four years was actually her mother’s niece and part of a family she had no idea she was a part of herself.

 _‘This is . . . wow,’_ Luke sent back, as equally shocked.

Perhaps it had been naivety or childish inattentiveness but they’d never considered the idea about their mother having family outside of the one she’d made with their father. Obi-Wan had never made any mention of it, neither had Vader, and everything they’d ever seen of their mother had been about her professional accomplishments.

It seemed silly for the twins to look back on it now and realise that every time they’d ever thought about their mother, they’d seen her as just that: their mother.

Their mother who’d been a Queen turned Senator.

Their mother who’d married their father: a Jedi.

Their mother who’d died shortly after their birth.

They’d never considered the idea that she’d also been someone else’s daughter, sister and aunt.

“So,” a few tears slipped down Sola’s cheeks— their _Aunt’s_ cheeks— and she straightened up her back, preparing herself for the confirmation. “Is it true? You are Padme’s children?”

The twins exchanged a look, sharing a silent word, before nodding simultaneously. Sola’s joy was instantaneous and they watched as a untameable smile spread across her face, her eyes misting as the truth finally sunk in.

Aunt.

Niece.

Nephew.

There were no words to describe the moment. All Luke and Leia could feel was shock and joy— a happiness that burst from their chest as they stared at their new-found Aunt and cousin with recognition. Here were two people who shared their blood, who had their eyes and their smile and a heritage that they welcomed the twins into with open arms.

“Oh my,” Sola placed a hand over her heart as she took in a shaky breath. “Would you mind—“ She stepped forwards slightly, her arms open wide as she blinked away tears. There was the silent asking of a hug that the twins accepted, nodding in unison so the woman could take those last steps and wrap her arms around them.

“After all this time, I can’t believe I finally have you in my arms,” Sola whispered as she kept her arms tight around the twins. She placed a kiss first to Luke’s temple and then next to Leia’s, her tears dripping onto the bedsheets as she silently cried.

(Sixteen years ago, the worst day of Sola’s life had played out. She’d walked down those long streets of Theed, the sky had been a dull grey colour and there had been millions of candles standing out in the darkness, held tight in the hands of mourners. The streets had been silent, save for the animal’s hooves as they’d walked miles in front. Everyone had held their breaths, their heads hung low as the body of the beloved Padme Amidala, former Queen and Senator, had been walked to her resting place.

But Sola had only seen her little sister— the baby which had been placed into her toddler arms, brown eyes and hair identical to her own, as she’d promised to love her forever and ever— laying still on a floating bed. Her expression had been peaceful and for a second, Sola had been able to convince herself that Padme had just been sleeping.

But Padme’s chest had not moved with the softness of one in a slumber, there had been white flowers in her hair— her favourite, specially picked by Sola herself— and her cheeks hadn’t had their usual rosiness. As Sola had trailed behind her baby sister— _“I promise I’ll love you forever and ever Padme”_ — she’d known that her sister would never open her eyes again. Never fill a room with her warmth, never fight for justice in the inspiring way she’d been beloved for . . . and Sola knew she’d never be able to wrap her arms around Padme again and feel that happiness that only her sister brought.

And gone with her had been the promise for a better tomorrow. Not only because of the Empire’s rise and Padme’s lack of voice but because underneath the exquisite blue dress that Padme had been buried in, had been the definite swell of new life. Life that had been snubbed out, alongside its’ mother. A child that Sola had not even known of until she’d seen her sister’s body and seen the evidence for herself— a bump that should’ve been celebrated but instead had been mourned.

For sixteen years Sola had thought about that bump. A bump her sister had not confided in her on, had gone to great lengths to hide and had taken to the grave.

A bump to which had been fake.

Sola had known, from the second she’d seen Luke Skywalker’s face on the Holonet, that the boy in her arms was that of her sister’s legacy. And then news had broken out of a twin, a sister, and when Sola had seen Leia Organa— no, Skywalker’s— face, she’d _known_. Everything in her had known. Those brown eyes, the shape of her face, the boy’s smile— it was all Padme.

And although Padme’s death was still an excruciating loss, one dulled slightly by time but still powerful enough to knock the air from Sola’s lungs every now and then, the pain mingled in with her joy. A nephew and a niece . . . two children that had inherited her sister’s greatness and her heart.

Padme was dead but a little piece of her would forever be alive.)

“I promise that I will love you forever and ever,” the words echoed out of Sola’s mouth as she kissed the heads of her sister’s twins, holding them to her chest like one would a newborn. As she breathed in the scent of Luke and Leia’s hair, childhood memories of Padme came rushing back and Sola realised that she had a part of her sister back.

And she refused to ever lose it.


	30. Dagobah

Darth Vader stood on the bridge of his Star Destroyer, _The Executor,_ waiting for the confirmation he knew would be coming. His hands were clasped behind his back, his respirator as loud as ever and his stoic posture gave no hint to the brewing storm waging on behind his mask.

Hoth orbited outside the Star Destroyer’s viewport, the ice planet cold to even just look at. The Force rang with truth as he stared down at the hostile planet— his children were there, he knew it.

After a month of searching, he knew he’d found them. Scout droids had been sent down to the surface days ago, their data being searched and any signs of life analysed in order for the Empire to prepare for an invasion. It would only be a matter of minutes now until the confirmation would be given.

 **Don’t do this** , the youthful voice he’d been struggling to get rid of lately, returned once again. There was an edge to desperation in there but Vader didn’t fool himself into thinking that meant the voice was weak— this past month the voice had proved he was more than a match for the Sith when it came to Luke and Leia.

_Be gone, you are dead!_

**If that is what you wish to believe.**

Vader growled in his mind, his respirator taking a second to hitch but no attention was drawn to him. If one were to look in his direction, they would be oblivious to the battle occurring inside the Sith’s mind. _You have no idea about the matters you are arguing about. You are foolish!_

**And you’re being careless. You’re gambling with my children’s lives.**

Vader wanted to scoff. _They are_ my _children! You were dead the moment they graced the Galaxy! You are dead, even now!_

**That may be so but they were made with my love.**

“Sir,” a Lieutenant stepped forward, the young man shaking slightly with fear. “We have received word from the analytics team, signs of life have been discovered on Hoth. We believe we have discovered the Rebel’s base.”

Vader nodded his approval, having known as such. “Prepare for an attack, we will be heading down to the surface within the hour. Prepare the troops.”

“Yes sir!”

The Lieutenant ran away to do his bidding as Vader took a second to look down at the planet orbiting below the Star Destroyer for a second. Within the hour, the Rebels base would be destroyed and Luke and Leia would have no where to run. He would force them to fake their loyalty to Palpatine, take them to his Master and once they were powerful enough, they’d join together to overthrow the Empire.

 **It won’t go the way you want** , the annoyingly youthful voice spoke once more. The long-dead man sounded far more wise than he ever had when he’d been alive. **And you’ll lose them because of it.**

 _It is this or death,_ Vader’s voice was cold in return. He could remember what he’d admitted to Luke when the boy had been attempting to destroy the Death Star. _(I cannot disobey my Master, the Dark Side forbids it)._ But what the boy hadn’t known was that when he’d given Vader the chance to shoot him down, even lowering his defences as if asking for death, Vader’s thumbs had never moved towards the trigger.

The thought of igniting his lightsaber and bringing it anywhere near one of his children with malicious intent filled him up with the same cold disgust that overcame him when he thought of Luke and Leia’s mother as she’d grabbed at her neck. He’d turned to the Dark Side, sold his soul to Palpatine and destroyed everything he’d once tried to protect, for his family. For Padme. For the baby in her womb.

And where Padme had died, his new powers having lashed out against her, Luke and Leia had survived. The Dark Side— Palpatine’s promises— had saved them and once again, the darkness would save them if they just walked the same path he had. It was that or death.

**Don’t do this. Please, not to them.**

Vader ignored the man’s voice, feeling the Dark Side flow around him as it took swings at the youthful man, trying to push him back down. He could feel the youthful voice losing control, the darkness choking any light he had for the time being, pushing him further and further away into his subconsciousness.

 **You’ll kill them,** the man whispered as Vader turned away from the viewport, walking off the bridge to go ready the troops in the hangar. **Palpatine will kill them if you let him anywhere near them. I know you lov—**

 _Enough!_ Vader clenched his fists, succumbing into the Dark Side so his anger and hatred quenched the voice once and for all. As he left the bridge, the youthful man finally faded away.

* * *

By now, both Luke and Leia had learnt that whenever something in their life seemed to be going good— for example: finding out their mother had extended family and finally meeting their long-lost Aunt and cousin— that they should always expect something bad to follow. It was as if the Force couldn’t cut them a break, always wanting to turn their worlds upside down.

In all honesty, they should’ve expected the Imperial attack.

They’d been in the canteen, finally recovered enough to leave the med-bay, sitting and eating with Sola and Pooja when the news came.

“You must come to Naboo, the whole family will so thrilled to see you,” Pooja smiled as she took a small sip of water. In the hours it had been since they’d discovered they were family, they’d been inseparable.

“Whole family?” Luke echoed his cousins words, wondering why he was shocked that there would be more to the Naberrie’s than just his Aunt and Cousin.

Sola reached out to brush a stray hair from Luke’s eyes, a warm look upon her face as she spoke. She’d been doing a lot of caring actions like that in the past few hours, as if she were scared any second she could wake up and the whole thing had been a dream.

Neither of the twins were complaining, however. Sola was the closest they’d ever had to a mother in all their sixteen years and their Aunt had the same kind of warmth and kindness they’d expected their mother to have had.

“Yes,” Sola smiled. “You have maternal grandparents, my husband and another cousin: my eldest daughter, Ryoo.”

“Do they know about us?”

“Ryoo and Dad do,” Pooja nodded. “But Gram and Gramps don’t, no.”

“They were too frail to make the flight and I would prefer this reveal be made face to face. I know the second they find out about you, they’ll be excited to meet you. For sixteen years, my sister’s concealed pregnancy has been a great source of sadness for them. It would be like a dream come true to know you were alive.”

Despite the past few hours of emotional talk, listening to their Aunt talk about their mother’s childhood and hearing nothing but kind words about what their mother had been like, it still took Leia aback a little to hear about how much she was _wanted_ in a family she’d only discovered she was a part of.

All her life she’d been thinking it was just her, Luke and Obi-Wan: a little found-family who’d been born out of the ashes of the family her father had destroyed. But in reality, whilst she’d been looking up at the stars, wondering about who her mother had been and if she would’ve been loved, a whole set of people had been mourning her. They’d cried for the child they hadn’t thought had survived— and hadn’t even known had existed until after her mother’s death.

In a different life, one where her mother hadn’t died, her father hadn’t sold his soul and the Galaxy hadn’t been torn apart, Leia knew she and Luke would’ve been born into the most loving extended family possible. The Naberrie’s loved the twins more than they possibly even knew.

“We’d love to meet them,” Leia nodded, speaking for both herself and Luke. “You all sound so wonderful.”

Sola smiled once more, taking Leia’s hand across the table. A few tears grew in her eyes and when she looked at Leia, they seemed to twinkle under the canteen’s lights. “You look so much like your mother; it takes me a second to remember that I’m staring at my niece and not my teenage sister.”

Pooja pointed her fork at Luke. “You definitely inherited the Skywalker genes, however.”

Luke smiled back, finding himself liking Pooja more and more as they spent time together. He could tell why Leia had liked her before they’d known they were cousins. In many ways, Pooja and Leia were very much alike: they could both be professional when need to be, they were natural Politicians and shared the same beliefs; yet when with those they loved, they let their carefree sides come out. Pooja had the same kind of sass as Leia, their humour very much alike and their attitudes seemed in tune.

“You have Padme’s smile, though,” Sola turned her head towards Luke, her smile growing even more. “And her heart, I can tell.”

Luke had been told all of this before from several other people, all people who had known his mother, but to hear it from his Aunt . . . Luke couldn’t help but show her the smile she was talking about, feeling blessed that where Leia had inherited the brunt of the Naberrie genes, he had this.

It was then, just as Pooja was about to speak, that the blaring alarm sounded.

Like ice being thrown down their back, the twins froze. Memories of Dantooine replayed in their minds and without any doubt, they knew what was happening.

Imperial invasion.

The alarm continued to sound, the intense noise refusing to be unheard and flecks of snow from the roof came falling down like dust as the vibration of it caused the entire base to shake.

Pooja paled, her eyes widening in horror and she looked like she’d seen a ghost. “Oh no, oh no!” Even Sola looked ready to be sick, her lips pulling down into a grimace.

Leia’s comlink started to beep, the voice of a General she was friends with patching through. “Leia, are you there? I repeat, are you there?”

“What’s the news General?”

“An Imperial attack!”

She almost rolled her eyes. “Have they broken through the atmosphere?”

“Yes, ma’am! There is a Star Destroyer orbiting above the planet and several AT-ATs have been sent to the surface. Fighter Squadrons are gearing up for attack as we speak.”

Leia nodded, her mind switching to that of a General without any hesitation. After a month of being on Echo Base, Leia had picked up a lot from the Commanders and Generals she’d been hanging around with. She’d learnt a lot about military tactics, the professionalism of the job and the ruthlessness needed. She’d also learnt that time was something rarely given. The only time they had was to act.

It was like flicking a switch: going from Leia Skywalker, teenager with an attitude that often got her in trouble to General Leia, a woman with the maturity of someone double her age and a strong head upon her shoulders, ready to command whoever she needed. All fears and concerns were pushed down and Leia knew she needed to move, to act, to help.

“I’m going to the Command centre to learn all I can about the situation,” Leia adopted her Princess voice once more, her tone becoming stoic and cold. She looked at Luke as if he were just another Rebel and not her brother. “You take Aunt Sola and Pooja to find someone who will get them off-world before the Imps truly arrive.”

Luke nodded, knowing now was not the time to argue.

“It’ll be okay,” Leia tried to smile at her Aunt and Cousin, the whole action looking a little forced. “I’m so glad I met you and I know we’ll reunite soon.”

Sola opened her mouth like she was about to argue but the words died in her throat. Maybe it was because of Naboo’s society reaching maturity sooner than most but she didn’t make a comment about how her niece and nephew seemed so involved with the brewing war at such a young age. But, then again, her sister had been Queen of Naboo at fourteen.

“You’re both so brave,” Sola took a second to pause, placing a palm on both the twins’ cheeks. “Your mother would be proud.”

Leia allowed herself one second to bask in the glory of those words before she took off running to try and do all she could with the incoming Imperial attack.

* * *

Saying goodbye to his Aunt and Cousin had been harder than Luke expected but as he threw on the orange flight-suit, preparing himself for the upcoming battle, he pushed those sombre thoughts from his mind. He’d see them again and when he did, he’d also get to meet the rest of his family. Grandparents, Uncle and Cousin. A whole family he’d never known existed and yet he cherished them with all his heart.

The hangar was busy with mechanics making last minute repairs, people fighting over the need for fuel to be topped up and droids whizzed around, doing all they could to help their panicked owners.

It reminded Luke of the period of time before the Death Star attack. Except this seemed far more frightening. There would be no victory here. Either way, Echo Base had been discovered and the Imperials were closing in, already having the upper hand by simply finding them.

“—only two fighter escorts per ship,” Luke heard his sister’s voice loud and clear, even through the commotion. There was a group of men, all dressed in orange flight-suits, standing around in a circle and as Luke eagerly pushed through to the front, he saw his standing standing in the middle, holding all the grace and courage of someone double her age.

Wedge shot Luke a smile from where he stood on the other side of the circle, his helmet under his arm as he listened intently to the battle plan Leia was dishing out. Even if she no longer went by her adoptive name or held a title, it was clear she was respected as much now as when she’d been a Princess.

Leia paid him no attention despite seeing him join the circle, her back remaining straight and her arms clasped behind her in a mannerism Luke had seen their father perfect whenever addressing Lieutenants. Despite her small stature and obvious youth, Leia spoke as if she were twice the age of the men around her, daring someone to speak out and question what she was saying.

It took Luke a second to push down his pride at his sister and actually listen to the words being spoken.

“The energy shield can only be opened for a short time, so you’ll have to stay very close to your transports.”

“Two fighters against a Star Destroyer?” One man piped up, seeming rather disillusioned by the tactic Leia was presenting but she wasn’t fazed by his tone.

“The ion cannon will fire several shots to make sure that any enemy ships will be out of your flight path. When you’ve gotten past the energy shield, proceed directly to the rendezvous point. Understand?”

There was a murmur of yes and Leia nodded her head, lifting up her arms. “Good luck.”

“Okay!” One man clapped his hands, calling for attention. “Everybody to their stations! Let’s go!”

As the men broke the circle, heading off to do the job they’d been tasked with, Leia made her way over to Luke. There was a question in her eyes and even though she didn’t voice it, Luke heard it.

“Aunt Sola and Pooja are currently with Gregor and Wolffe, who promised to get them off Hoth safely.”

Leia frowned a little, obviously not liking what she’d heard. “And you trust them?”

“Well, they did fight in the Clone Wars, just like Rex. And they were rather passionate about it. Wolffe said— and I quote— ‘all those Imps will see of us is the dust we kick up as we go’.”

“Fine,” Leia conceded. “As long as they’re safe, I guess that’s all that matters. And talking about safety: please Luke, be careful out there.”

“Actually . . . about that,” Luke paused, wondering how he could phrase what he wanted to say. He’d been thinking hard about his possible plan from the moment he’d said goodbye to his Aunt and Cousin. Memories from before his three-day coma, when he’d been upside down in the Wampa’s cave, had come flooding back throughout the course of the day but with Sola and Pooja hanging around, Luke had not had the time to voice what he could remember to his sister.

 _Dagobah_ , Obi-Wan’s voice had whispered in his mind like a small prayer, finally answering the six year long question of where their former guardian could be.

“Why do I feel like I won’t like whatever you’re about to say next?” Leia crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing slightly but Luke refused to feel intimidated by her stare.

“You should come with me.”

“Come with _you_ . . .? What do you mean Luke?”

“Be my co-pilot! I know you’re a good pilot and it’ll make things easier if you come with me.”

Leia paused, looking at Luke like she was trying to see something behind his eyes. “Did you hit your head again?”

“What?” Luke took a step back, shaking his head. “No! Leia, listen to me. I think I know where Obi-Wan is. I had some sort of dream or vision when I was in the Wampa’s cave and its slowly been coming back to me. I think I know where to find him.”

“And you’re only telling me now?”

“Well it would’ve been hard to tell you when we were having lunch with our Cousin and Aunt!” Luke threw his hands up in the air with annoyance, giving Leia a hard stare. “And I’m telling you _now_! I swear, I think I know where he could be.”

“Okay,” Leia nodded, still in General mode as she made a quick plan in her mind. “So after this whole battle and we reach the rendezvous point, we’ll go and we’ll try—“

“No, Leia, we should go now.”

“Now? As in right now, when a battle is going on?”

“Father doesn’t care about the Rebellion, Leia,” Luke pressed on, knowing he was speaking the truth. “He just wants us. Three times in the past two months has the Rebellion been discovered by the Imps and each time its been because of us! I have no doubt that the reason Echo Base was discovered was because Father sensed us here. No matter where we go, Father will try and find us. And the Rebellion won’t be safe.”

“But we can’t leave in the middle of a battle, Luke!”

“If we leave then we’ll draw the focus away from the Rebellion! More people will be able to escape Hoth!”

Leia hated how there was a slither of truth in Luke’s words. Staying was putting people at risk and Leia knew that no matter how much they wanted to help, they were only harming the cause they fought for. And if what Luke was saying about Obi-Wan was true, then the reasons to leave really did stack up higher than those arguing they stay.

Instead of addressing all that, she gave her brother a slightly softer look. “You would really want me as your co-pilot?”

Luke smirked, reaching out to gently punch Leia in the shoulder with good humour. “There’s no one else I would rather have by my side.”

With all their half-formed, sometimes thoughtless plans, Leia really hoped this one would turn out okay.

* * *

“Threepio, you are going to have to _shut up!_ ”

Luke snickered at how angry his sister sounded, her voice raising an octave to finally get the golden protocol droid to end his stressing about impending death. They were in one of the Rebellion’s larger star-fighters; it was massive in size, with powerful engines and a socket to the left built for astromech units. The bulk of the star-fighter resembled more of a ship yet all it had was a cockpit, large enough for Luke, Leia and Threepio to squeeze into.

Dressed in an orange flight-suit just like her twin, Leia spared one last annoyed glance at Threepio before turning back to the battle at hand.

“Ah! Watch out!” Leia screamed as Luke narrowly dodged around a shot being fired at them by one of the AT-ATs that had invaded Hoth.

“You don’t need to yell _watch out_ every time we are being shot at, Leia,” Luke groaned, his ear still ringing slightly from Leia’s increasing yells. For a backseat pilot, his sister rivalled Threepio on the annoying level.

“I was just checking you’d seen it!”

Luke scoffed, taking a hand off the controls to point wildly at the AT-AT in front of them. “How could I not when its a huge blast coming straight towards us?” Just as he said it, another massive blast came firing towards them and Luke dodged it easily, flying the star-fighter in a loop-de-loop to miss it.

“Oh my,” Threepio was pressed up against the wall considering the star-fighter only had two seats and if he were human, Luke knew he would be green and kneeling over by now. “Master Luke, I must insist you refrain on the death-defying tactics! I don’t think I can take them!”

Luke grit his teeth as he moved the vessel sharply to the left. Threepio let out a yell as he went careening into the other side of the cockpit. “Sorry Threepio but this is a major battle and if I don’t pull crazy stunts, we’d be dead.”

Artoo beeped over the comms, the words appearing on the computer between Luke and Leia’s seats.

_More Imps incoming! I suggest we get out of here!_

“That’s what I was thinking,” Leia nodded, turning to Luke. “I thought your plan was to leave and take the focus away from the Rebellion? Your spending an awful lot of time in the midst of this battle rather than getting out.”

“Father isn’t here yet! How can we distract him when he’s not _here_ to distract? We need to draw him out.”

Leia harrumphed, leaning back in her seat as Luke did the brunt of the work, flying around in circles and avoiding the blasts the Imps were sending their way. Behind them, Echo Base was evacuating and nearly all the pilots were out in the midst of battle, trying to buy time for the people on the ground to leave.

“Well, how about trying to bring down that AT-AT?” Leia felt a rush of anger as another pilot got shot down in front of them, becoming a ball of fire and smoke that got quenched by the snow below. The AT-AT was walking in front of them, its mechanical legs flattening the snow underneath it, unfazed by the terrible conditions as it shot down Rebel pilots from all around it.

“Any ideas?”

Leia paused, racking her brain for anything that could work. Simply shooting it dead-on wouldn’t work, several Rebel pilots had already tried. The metal was too strong and the AT-ATs guns were stronger than that of the star-fighters the Rebellion was using.

And then an idea popped into her head.

She could remember a period of time when she and Luke had been seven and they’d been obsessed with pulling pranks on one another. It had driven Obi-Wan insane with the arguing that had ensued after each prank and before even a month had passed, he’d laid down the law that should they pull one more prank then they’d both be grounded for life.

One prank in particular stood out to Leia.

“Luke, do you remember that time when we were seven and I pulled that tripping prank on you?”

Luke’s face scrunched up in discomfort and he nodded his head, dodging again to miss the blasts being sent their way. “Yeah; the one where you tied string to the door at ankle height and when I walked past it, I fell on my face— that one?”

“Yes!”

“Thanks for the walk down memory lane, Leia, but I think we have more important things to deal with,” Luke frowned, sparing his sister a glance as if she were crazy.

“Let’s do that with the AT-AT! We can shoot out a cable from the back of the star-fighter and wrap it around the AT-AT’s legs and when it tries to walk, it’ll fall over!”

Even Luke had to admit that it was genius. He turned on the comms, telling Wedge what they planned to do. “And then the AT-AT will fall over!” He ended with a laugh.

“You Skywalker’s are crazy but it might just work,” Wedge sounded from the other end of the comms. Most of the remaining pilots had been shot down and the twins knew Wedge had nothing else to lose. “Go ahead! Bring that sleemo down!”

Luke gripped the controls even tighter, gathering the Force to help fuel his instincts as he dodged another blast and headed straight towards the AT-AT. One hit and they’d be down, Luke knew that. But just when his reflexes were going to be too slow and a blast got a little too close, Leia used the co-pilot controls to dodge at the very last second.

They shared a glance, Luke sending his gratitude to his sister through the Force as they finally made it into the ‘safe zone’ underneath the AT-AT’s gun. With its bulky design and lack of immobility apart from walking, the guns couldn’t point down and the legs were completely vulnerable to the attack they were about to commit.

“Hey Artoo!” Luke yelled over the comm to the droid in his astromech socket. “Can you extend a cable out to the AT-AT?”

A beep followed his words. _Oooh, this will be fun!_

“Oh seriously Artoo, you are not a good influence!” Threepio whined from the back, his words going unheard by the astromech droid as he popped out a cable from the back of the star-fighter and attaching it to the legs of the AT-AT.

“Try not to get dizzy,” Luke teased as he suddenly went round in circles, making the cable wrap around and around and around the AT-ATs legs several times. Just as Imperial backup arrived in the distance, Luke yelled at Artoo to disconnect the cable and when the AT-AT tried to move, it went down in one swooping motion. And then Wedge was flying in, sending several shots to the rear of the AT-AT and the twins whooped as it exploded into a gust of flames.

“Good job!” Wedge cheered over the comms. “I’ll see you both at the rendezvous point!”

Neither Luke or Leia had the heart to break the news that they were leaving as they shot off, heading towards the atmosphere to make their escape.

“Set the course for Dagobah, Artoo,” Luke punched at the controls to turn on the shields as they flew upwards, the ship starting to become hot as it tried to leave the planets surface.

“Dagobah?”

“That’s where I think Obi-Wan is.”

Leia nodded, having never heard of the place before. She guessed it was somewhere in the Mid Rim and possibly not very pleasant given the fact that Obi-Wan had managed to remain hidden for so long by being there. But whatever the planet would be like, as long as Obi-Wan was there, Leia knew she would be able to brave it. She’d even go to Mustafar if it meant seeing the man who’d raised her again.

Leia nodded, looking up into the sky above as they started to break through the atmosphere, leaving Hoth and the Rebellion behind. “Dagobah it is, then.”

It was seconds before the ship broke through the atmosphere into space that Luke heard it. A call from a distant voice, a bond being re-awoken in his mind and there was a desperateness, a vulnerable longing as the man reached out to him.

_‘Luke . . .’_

The distraction had worked, that much Luke knew. Their father was focused upon them and was no doubt following behind in a TIE fighter rather than gathering up Rebels to imprison and torture.

 _‘Luke . . .’_ Vader called out again but this time it didn’t sound much like the man Luke could remember. His voice sounded younger in Luke’s mind, softer and more caring. He half expected his father to demand he return like he’d done countless times before but instead he whispered: _‘Stay safe.’_

And then the voice was cut out like a hand reaching up to wrap around its mouth. Darkness flooded his previously bright father’s presence and the harshness of his father’s voice returned, akin to what Luke could always remember hearing whenever they spoke through the force.

_‘Luke!’_

He ignored it, holding the words previously spoken close to his heart as Artoo programmed the star-fighter to head to Dagobah. His father’s presence became stronger, as if he were gaining on them but the second they entered the cold of space, Vader faded away as the stars became a blur of white and blue.

* * *

Thankfully, the jump from Hoth to Dagobah had not been a long one. With the star-fighter’s advanced hyperdrive and the relatively short distance between the two planets, it had only taken several hours before they came out of hyperspace with the swampy planet filling their scopes.

Had the trip to Dagobah been any longer, both Luke and Leia knew they would’ve gone insane. They were glued to their respective seats and whilst the cockpit was rather large for a star-fighter, with Threepio squished in the back, there was not a lot of room and it was easily claustrophobic.

 _And kriff_ , Luke thought to himself as he squirmed uncomfortably, _the seats were unbearable!_

“That’s Dagobah?” Leia couldn’t help but scrunch her nose up. According to the navi-computer it was a swamp planet, inhospitable for most life forms but there was no toxicity in the air.

It wasn’t lost on Leia that the reaction she’d just experienced had been the exact same to every single planet they’d visited in the time since her departure from Alderaan. (“That’s Tatooine?”; “That’s Dagobah?”; “That’s Hoth?”) She wasn’t sure if it was because Naboo and Alderaan had raised her expectations but every planet they’d been to in the last two months had been nothing short of unpleasant.

 _Okay_ , Leia relented, _Dantooine hadn’t been_ that _bad_.

Artoo beeped loudly just as they lowered down past the planet’s atmosphere, suddenly becoming engulfed in a thick fog. It misted up the glass before them and even with lights on, the fog was too heavy to see through.

_Careful! There’s too much fog to see! My scanners are useless._

Luke gripped the controls even tighter, releasing a sharp breath. “We’ll have to fly through blind then.”

The lower down they travelled, the thicker the fog seemed to get. Branches hit the glass, causing everyone to jump at the suddenness and even Leia, who was a bit of a daredevil herself, couldn’t help but feel that Luke was being ridiculously reckless.

“Fly _blind_?” She hissed, gripping the arms of her seat until her knuckles went white. Threepio was moaning from behind them, praying to the Maker that they survive, and Artoo was letting out ear-piercing shrikes of panic. “Are you _crazy_?!”

Luke grit his teeth together, dodging sharply left as the fog continued to invade their ability to see. “What other choice do we have?”

Threepio let out a particularly loud moan. “Oh I really don’t like this! Pray to the Maker that we survive this! I’m too gold to die!”

“Luke, slow down!”

Leia’s yell mingled in with Artoo’s shrieks and Luke suddenly realised that flying full-throttle through poor visibility probably wasn’t the best choice. They were flying towards the surface with crazy speed, the controls shuddering underneath him as unseen branches hit them at every angle.

 _Focus,_ Luke told himself as he let out a breath, feeling the Force surround him. It was as if it gave him eyes, where he couldn’t actually see anything through the fog, he could sense every branch and object that crossed their path. _Left, right, down, left_ . . . Luke flew freely, no worry in his mind as the Force kept him serene and in charge.

All other thoughts were vanished from his mind and he flew with confidence. _Down, right, up, right, left. . ._

And then a particularly loud shriek from Artoo cut through Luke’s concentration. The Force slipped away and Luke was once again blind, flying at fast speed towards the ground as more and more branches whacked themselves against the glass window.

“Luke!” Leia’s yell made his ear ring and his sister’s hand was suddenly reaching out, grabbing the controls and yanking them towards her so they went sharply right.

“Hey! Get off!”

Leia refused to let go of the controls.

“Let go Leia!” Luke yanked the controls to the left in an attempt to shake Leia off. His sister just sent him a death glare, jumping when a particularly thick branch smacked against the glass with a cracking sound.

“We almost crashed!”

“Because you got involved! Let go!”

Leia tugged the controls right and Luke retaliated by turning them left. Artoo let out a frightened whistle, words appearing on the screen as he attempted to communicate but they went unread.

_Stop! Stop!_

It was just when Leia pulled the controls harshly to the right, the star-fighter dripping slightly at the action, that something hit the left side of their ship. A loud crack sound filled Luke and Leia’s blood with ice and before they knew it, the entire vessel was spinning out of control. Luke shook the piloting controls but nothing seemed to mend the mess and down they went, spinning to what seemed like impending doom.

“Pray to the Maker!” Threepio’s voice mingled in with the twins’ screams. Their hearts were beating inside their chests like drums, thumping violently as if it were trying to break free.

And then . . . **splash!**

The star-fighter crashed into what felt like a body of water. The landing was harsh and their heads were thrown back, headaches instantly blooming. The brute force of their crash landing had their bodies jolting and as they looked out the cracked glass before them, they noticed the fog had lifted now they were on the surface.

Even with the dim lighting and the cracks on the glass, it was easy to tell they’d landed in swampy water. If anything, it was a miracle they’d landed in the swampy plains and not the solid ground right next to them.

“This is all your fault,” Leia seethed, the panic from before turning to anger. Her throat was sore from the screaming and the feeling of nausea settled in as an aftermath to the adrenaline fading away.

“ _My_ fault? You’re the one who grabbed at the controls!”

Leia was about to reply when there was a loud sound, like a bubble of air popping, and suddenly the ship started to sink, the swampy water rising up as it threatened to envelope the star-fighter entirely. She let out a scream, knowing they had seconds before they got swallowed.

“Get out, get out, get out!”

Luke pressed a button to get the cockpit hatch to open and immediately swampy water started to flood in, drenching their feet and shins with the foulness. The smell was rancid, reminding Leia of the Death Star’s failed garbage escapade.

“Oh, we’re going to die! We’re going to die!”

Threepio’s stressing got louder as the disgusting liquid pooled into the cockpit at alarming speed. It was already up to the protocol droid’s knees.

Artoo let out a whistle, using his jet boosters to shoot out of the socket he’d been previously occupying and flying above the twins and Threepio in the drowning cockpit.

“Oh don’t come to our rescue Artoo!” Threepio sounded annoyed, sparing a moment from commenting on his impending doom to start up another argument with the astromech droid. “What a poor excuse for a friend!” Just as he’d said it, Artoo shot out a suction cable which attached itself to Threepio’s head. The droid flew higher, pulling Threepio out of the dire situation and towards the solid ground next to them, ignoring how the protocol droid let out a loud yell.

Leia gagged as the smell became overwhelming, the swampy liquid now up to her hips. The star-fighter was sinking at an alarmingly fast rate and she knew that the second it went under, both she and Luke would be pulled down with it should they still be in the cockpit when time ran out.

“We need to jump to the land!” Luke yelled, wading through the water in the cockpit to try and pull himself up onto the back of the star-fighter that had not yet been swallowed by the swamp.

Leia knew now was not the time to argue but she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Thank you for stating the obvious!”

Luke held out his hand, reaching down to his sister as he knelt on the top of the star-fighter. She took his hand graciously, letting Luke help pull her up out of the swampy cockpit that had now been engulfed in foul liquid.

“On the count of three,” Luke instructed as they stood side by side, the vessel continuing to sink underneath them. Swampy water once again touched at their feet as the top half of the star-fighter started to go under.

“One . . . Two . . . Three!”

Both Luke and Leia jumped at the same time, flying in the air with mingled yells before hitting the ground beside the deposited Threepio with heavy thuds. Even as their muscles ached at the bad landing, they were overwhelmed with just how safe solid ground felt like.

Artoo let out a sad beep and as Luke and Leia stood up, their boots squelching underneath them as swamp water tickled their toes, they watched as the last of their ship sunk underneath the swampy plains. With one last air bubble popping, the star-fighter got swallowed whole and the water rippled, as if it were enjoying its meal.

“Well I guess we’re stranded here now.”

“And whose fault is that, Luke?” Leia’s anger returned, her arms crossing over her chest. The orange flight-suit was completely soaked, brown liquid making the fabric cling to her skin. It was uncomfortable and it was cold and Leia blamed Luke entirely.

“Hey! Don’t go pointing fingers at who is to blame because we both know you’re the one who caused mayhem by grabbing the controls!”

Leia scoffed, clenching her hands into fists as her anger rose like a thermometer when the heat was turned up. “You were flying _blind_ at _full-throttle_!”

Luke threw his hands up in the air. “All the more reason for you to not have gotten involved!”

“Are you really that obtuse that you can’t see how utterly reckless you acted back then? You put all of our lives at risk! Poor Threepio nearly blew a circuit!”

“Threepio is always close to blowing a circuit,” Luke waved his hand like it was no big deal.

Leia’s fists clenched even tighter. “We almost _died_ , Luke!"

Luke looked between his sister’s angry expression and the swamp that had swallowed their star-fighter. He knew, deep, deep, deep down, that she had a point. Leia wasn’t completely blameless (not that Luke was going to reopen that argument again otherwise he was sure he’d be met with a knuckle-sandwich served by Chef Leia Skywalker) but his actions had heavily contributed to this mess.

“Fine,” Luke raised his hands up in a sign of surrender, sighing as he did so. “I admit that flying full-throttle with poor visibility wasn’t the best life choice I could’ve made. But no one died!”

Leia rolled her eyes but her fists unclenched, which Luke took to be a sign that she’d partially forgiven him. “Poor visibility, my ass” she mumbled under her breath, turning around to help Threepio off the ground. “We were _blind_.”

She continued on with her mutterings as they started to stumble away from what had been dubbed ‘the crash site’, heading out into the forest beside them to try and find shelter. Dagobah seemed to be in an eternal night, the light constantly dim and blocked out by the fog in the sky. But as true night-time came, the air got colder and the breeze started to pick up like it was warning them to find somewhere to rest before native fauna started going on the prowl.

They ended up creating camp near the edge of the forest not too far away from where they’d crashed, gathering sticks and leaves in order to make a fire. It took a long time (and several arguments) before the fire began to burn but once it did, Luke and Leia shuffled as close as they could get to try and protect themselves from the increasingly bitter wind.

As Luke looked around the greyish plains of Dagobah, he wondered if his apt description of Hoth being the worst planet he’d ever been on was still true.

As a creature howled somewhere in the distance and the smell of the swamp floated towards their camp, he thought that probably no, it wasn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next few chapters are going to be FUN


	31. A Jedi Master

When morning came— or at least, they thought it was morning— neither Luke nor Leia felt rested. The first night on Dagobah had been fitful, both of them being awoken at different times by noises off in the distance. At one point in the night, Luke had sat up with his father’s lightsaber held tightly in his hand as he’d tried to protect their camp for what he’d feared could’ve been an attack.

(There was no attack and Luke had fallen asleep, the lightsaber still in his hand, minutes after he’d sat up.)

But neither of them had come to Dagobah for a holiday and so once they awoke, both missing their beds like crazy, they wasted no time in getting up and carrying on.

“Why couldn’t Obi-Wan have gone into hiding on somewhere like Onderon?” Leia complained for what Luke guessed was the millionth time. They were trudging through the swampy forest, pushing vines and branches out of their way and they conducted their search to find their former guardian. “I hear its very nice this time of year.”

“This place is strong with the Force,” Luke mused, ignoring his sister. “It has to be the reason for why he came here.”

“Can you sense him?”

Luke closed his eyes, letting the Force flow around him as he called to it for guidance. It responded quickly, like the planet was one with the Force as well. He sent out an invisible hand, searching under rocks and around trees for any sign of Obi-Wan and whilst his search came out empty, he felt something familiar tugging him forward.

“I can’t sense him, per se. But there’s something familiar calling to me; I’m sure he is here, we just need to find him.”

Leia nodded, her expression all buisness as she carried on.

Despite getting a little annoyed at Leia’s earlier complaining, Luke had to admit that Dagobah seemed to get more unpleasant as they trudged on. Everything around them seemed to be either grey or a putrid green. The air was moist and there was a faint mist around them, the smell being akin to growing mould.

Vines hung down from trees, the barks of the trees being nothing but interwoven vines that stuck up out of the ground and every five seconds, the twins found their feet splashing in some puddle. And Threepio seemed to be constantly falling over.

A loud thud from behind them had Luke and Leia pause, groan and then turn around to help the protocol droid back up.

“Oh thank you Master Luke,” Threepio crooned as Luke pulled the golden droid to his feet once again. “These blasted vines will be the death of me!” Artoo beeped beside Threepio, rolling forwards. “I _am_ looking where I’m going Artoo!”

Artoo let out a whistle, seeming to infuriate Threepio more. “You don’t even have any legs Artoo! You have no right to comment on matters to which you do not understand!”

Luke ignored the droid’s brewing argument, his mind being drawn to a noise that sounded from up ahead. It was like maniacal laughing, the sound sending ice down his spine. It echoed around in his mind, filling his senses and drawing him forward to the source. _What is that?_ Luke couldn’t help but edge forward, the menacing laugh getting louder and louder as he moved closer.

Leia’s hand was suddenly on his arm, the wicked laughter fading away but not disappearing entirely. It sounded like a whisper but Luke could still hear it somewhere off in the distance.

“Luke?”

“Do you hear that?”

Leia scrunched her face up, her nose crinkling with confusion. “Hear what?”

And then Leia heard the faint echo of a cry, a twisted, agonising call of someone in pain. It got louder with each step she took, their muffled yells sounding familiar but Leia couldn’t place it. The voice was too harsh, too cold, for it to be Obi-Wan’s and there was an edge to the voice that made her fists curl up.

Unconscious anger flooded into her system at the person’s cry and Leia didn’t know why she felt such a way as it got louder and louder.

They followed the sounds, Luke with his maniacal laughter and Leia with her agonising cries, to a cave nearby. It was made out of the thick vines found on the trees and the floor was misty, a white fog hiding their feet as they stepped closer to the cave. It was pitch black inside and shivers ran down their spines as the noises got incredibly louder.

“Master Luke! Mistress Leia! I must advise we carry on! I do not like the look of this,” Threepio tried to steer them away from the terrifying looking cave but there was something pulling the twins closer. _Come inside_ , it whispered in their minds.

The Force felt undeniably dark on this side of Dagobah and standing here, by this cave, Luke and Leia almost felt submerged in the darkness. It was akin to Luke’s terrors on Coruscant, when the anger had risen for no reason and he’d been left cold and shaken afterwards. And Leia could remember this feeling from the Death Star, her anger pounding through her body until sense had drained it away, leaving her feeling like a shell of the person she once was.

Yet still, they stepped inside.

* * *

Even though they’d walked in at the same time, Leia suddenly couldn’t feel her brother beside her. She turned in the darkness, trying to make out his faint figure. . . but there was nothing. Even through their bond, Luke didn’t respond.

It was as if he’d disappeared.

Vanished into thin air.

“Luke?” She called out to him several times, receiving no reply nor even a simple acknowledgement through their Force connection. In fact, across their bond, Luke felt muffled, akin to when one of them was asleep.

It just didn’t make sense.

Leia opened her mouth to call out to her brother again when the muffled cry from before had her stumbling further into the darkness in front. The cry sounded agonised, the person clearly in unbearable pain and yet Leia didn’t feel sorry for whoever it was. Something inside her told her they deserved it— that she was happy they were hurt.

And that feeling scared her.

 _(Why would I want anyone to suffer?_ She frowned.)

Leia stumbled further into the darkness, the entrance behind her fading away until there was nothing but pitch-black surrounding her. The cry got louder, the person’s wails seeming to pound around in her brain and Leia started to move faster, trying to find the source.

And then she paused.

She was no longer in the cave on Dagobah, that much Leia could tell. She was standing on the Death Star, the grey, metal walls and floor replacing the darkness and there were bodies of Stormtroopers laying at her feet. They were all dead, slashed in the middle with lightsaber cuts that had ended their lives immediately. Blood was splattered on the walls and it pooled on the floor, Leia’s shoes suddenly becoming red as she stepped forward.

The sound of gasping got louder and Leia made her way through the massacre, feeling sick to her stomach, until she found the source of the cries and the pained yells.

Governor Tarkin lay on his back on the floor, blood dripping down his narrow chin and his beady eyes round and filled with fear. His usually pale face was snow white, his cheeks appearing more sunken and there were multiple lightsaber gashes over his body as he gasped for what little bit of life he had left.

His boney hand raised, a long finger extended up towards where Leia stood over him. His hand was covered in blood, the red liquid dripping down to the floor as his finger shook violently in Leia’s direction.

“ _Trai—tor_ ,” his word broke, his voice shattering as he used his final breath to mumble one parting insult. And then his hand fell to his side, back into the pool of red surrounding him and his eyes unfocused.

Leia felt horror flood through her as she stumbled backwards, her eyes darting over the massacre around her. She felt familiar anger to which she’d felt on the Death Star try to rise up inside her but she pushed it down, feeling nauseas at what she’d just witnessed.

And then Leia screamed.

For in her hand was her father’s lightsaber and her fingers were caked in dry blood.

* * *

Luke wondered if he’d been suckered into some sort of prank of Leia’s making. His sister often found a thrill in making his life a living hell at times and as he stumbled in the darkness, his twin suddenly gone, he wondered if this was one of those times.

“Leia!” He yelled for the millionth time but he was met with nothing. No acknowledgement, no call back, no sound from his sister. They’d walked into the cave at the same time and within seconds, it had been like Leia had ceased to exist. Like an imaginary friend suddenly floating away with the wind.

“ _Young Skywalker,”_ the Emperor’s voice sounded off in the darkness, followed by the maniacal laughter he’d heard from outside the cave. The Sith lured him in, drawing Luke further and further into the darkness.

He stumbled forwards, feeling like a moth drawn to the flame as dread crept up in his chest. And yet he could not turn away. The eerie laughter from the Emperor got louder and louder as Luke moved further into the cave, the sounds sending chills down his spine and he wrapped his hand around his Dad’s lightsaber, as if he knew that would protect him.

 _“Good young Skywalker, good,”_ the Emperor crooned, suddenly stepping out of the shadows. He was exactly as Luke remembered from his nightmares: hood drawn up, vicious smile half hidden by the darkness and his boney, white hands reaching towards him.

Luke stumbled backwards, feeling his heart leap up to his throat and as he looked around, he noticed the darkness had faded away. He stood in the middle of the Emperor’s Throne Room, the very place where Luke had felt like part of his soul had begun to die.

“ _You are doing well, soon you will be ready to become my next apprentice.”_

The words had Luke veering back. He knew exactly what that meant. Him: a Sith, his father dead. The nausea grew in his stomach as he gripped his father’s lightsaber even tighter in his hand. He would not do it!

 _“Before you go, young Skywalker,”_ the Emperor sneered, making Luke’s heart stop for a single second. _“One last task.”_

He knew exactly what the Sith was about to say; his body froze, his eyes widened and the nauseas feeling doubled until Luke was sure his cheeks were tinged green like Dagobah’s surroundings. Something electric tingled beneath his fingertips and a rush of adrenaline, a protective streak the size of a Gundark, pounded through his veins.

_“Think of someone you love— someone you love the most— and imagine a lightsaber going straight through their heart.”_

His reaction was immediate: the lightsaber in his hand lit up a brilliant blue, his teeth bared and Luke let out a roar of “NO!” The Emperor was defenceless in front of him, standing there in his shrouded black robe and when Luke lunged at him, all he heard was the maniacal laughter from before.

Luke swung the lightsaber around in a wild motion, the blade going right through Palpatine’s neck and the laughter suddenly died off like a switch being flicked. The Emperor’s knees crumpled, his cloaked body falling forward and as Luke looked at the corpse on the floor, he knew something was wrong.

Palpatine was too small in front of him, his body too slender . . . and was that brown hair under the scorched black hood?

A cry rippled out Luke’s throat as he threw himself to the ground.

For there, on the floor, beheaded at his hand, was his sister.

* * *

“Master Luke! Mistress Leia!” Threepio’s voice was what greeted them as they all but tumbled out of the cave, finally feeling as if they were able to breathe. Cold air hit Luke and Leia’s faces and now, after what they’d just experienced, neither of them had a bad word to say about Dagobah’s swampy plains.

Artoo let out a loud shriek, rolling towards where the twins were slumped against the side of the cave. They were both heaving in air, trying to banish the images they’d just seen from their heads.

“You’ve been gone for hours!” Threepio wailed, turning his head to Artoo when the astromech droid beeped in reply. “No, I am not exaggerating Artoo!”

Leia raised her hands up to her face, taking in comfort that there was no blood caked on her skin this time. She released a shuddery breath, feeling as if she’d been dipped in ice water, a cold and empty sensation lingering in her gut.

“What was that place?”

Luke had no words to say, instead he just shook his head and wrapped his arms around his torso, feeling like he’d left a part of himself in that cave. Out here, the cave and it’s darkness behind them, their bond was once again reinstated. Luke could feel his sister’s buzzing presence in his mind, he could feel her horror and the panic she was sending off into the Force and it reassured him that she was fine.

Leia was here, not headless in the cave, murdered by his hand.

“A domain of evil, that place is,” a croaky voice sounded off to the side. Sitting on a boulder, a gimer stick in his hand, was a green, goblin-like creature with pointy ears and a few scraggly, grey hairs on either side of his face. He was dressed in sandy coloured robes and when he spoke, he sounded a little senile.

‘ _Is that frog talking to us?_ ’ Leia whispered across her bond to Luke, raising her eyebrow at the creature humming from the rock.

Luke seemed a little taken aback, unable to help himself from looking utterly confused. _‘Uh, I think so?’_

They’d been on Dagobah for a night and half a day, seeing nothing but bugs and the occasional swimming predator that roamed the swampy waters. This green goblin was the first creature they’d crossed paths with that could speak Basic.

And despite seeming rather happy on his little boulder, Luke and Leia guessed he wasn’t a native. There was something about him that told the twins he wasn’t talking fauna.

“Can we help you?” Leia eyed the little creature warily, as if she expected him to suddenly jump up and attack them. He was small, rather senile and frail looking but Leia, better than most, knew appearances could be deceiving.

“Help me, hmm, no, no. Help _you_ , question is.”

“Help us?” Luke scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I don’t think there’s anything you can help us with.”

“We’re looking for someone,” Leia added, trying to not sound as annoyed as Luke looked.

“Find them _here_ , you will not,” the goblin hummed, the noise he made sounding between a hum and a chuckle.

Leia pointed towards the cave, getting a funny feeling that this goblin creature would be able to give her the answers she sought. “What do you know about this cave?”

“Hmm, strong in the Dark Side, that cave is. Wary, you should be.”

“When I went inside, I saw something horrible. I saw the aftermath of a decision I never went through with. And there was this anger . . . it tried to consume me.”

The goblin looked thoughtful, bobbing his head. “Tempting, hmm, the Dark Side can be. Saw your fears, hmm, saw what you are capable of.”

Leia looked down at her hands, seeing the blood that had been stuck under her fingernails and the redness that had stained her palms in the cave. But then she blinked and the blood was gone. Her hands were clean-- she was capable of killing Tarkin, _yes_ , but she hadn't done it.

“How is it that you know so much about this cave and the Dark Side?” Luke frowned, pushing away his guilt at what he’d done in the cave. He knew the frog had to be wrong, there was no way in the Galaxy that he was capable of hurting his sister to such an extent. _You could if you turned to the Dark Side_ , his conscience reminded him.

Back when he’d been on Coruscant, when Leia had been pleading with him to fight the shackles of the Emperor’s imprisonment and leave with her, he’d known he’d been capable of hurting her. The voice in his mind, the Emperor’s own input, had crooned for him to do so . . . but Luke hadn’t.

He reminded himself of that fact when the guilt tried to eat him away. He’d left with his twin and Luke knew he’d never fall so low again— not when he had Leia at his side to remind him why he was fighting for the good.

In response to Luke’s question, the goblin just hummed.

Beside the twins, Artoo let out a low beep and he rolled closer to the goblin creature as if he recognised him from somewhere. There was familiarity to Artoo’s beeps and whistles but neither Luke nor Leia could place how their astromech would know this crazy talking goblin from a swamp planet.

As Artoo got closer, the goblin let out a gleeful cheer. His gimer stick raised and then he pounded it on Artoo’s dome, making the poor droid let out a terrifying shriek.

“Hey! Stop that!” Luke raced forward, grabbing the gimer stick with one hand to stop it assaulting Artoo once more and the droid whizzed away until it was behind Luke’s leg, seeking protection.

“Oh, how uncivilised,” Threepio mumbled, sounding a little distraught.

“You know, you never did answer my question,” Luke’s frown became accusatory as he let the gimer stick go, his arms crossing over his chest. He kept his hand close enough to the lightsaber on his belt so he could pull it out whenever necessary, without issue. “How do you know about the Dark Side? Are you a Sith?”

“Sith? No, hmm, Sith I not am.” The goblin chuckled slightly. “Sith, I could never be.”

 _‘Perhaps we should just leave?’_ Leia queried over their bond, sending Luke a look with one of her eyebrows quirked up. The longer they spent with the goblin creature, the more confused they seemed to get.

They started to move away, ready to continue their venture through the swampy forest, hoping the goblin would get the hint. And if he attempted to follow, Luke knew Artoo wouldn’t hesitate to extend his pincers. The poor droid was still slightly traumatised from being whacked with the gimer stick, letting out slow, sad beeps every now and then.

“Lost, hmm, you will become,” the goblin made no move to leave his boulder and follow them yethis voice carried in the distance, making both Luke and Leia pause. They turned back with expectant faces, Leia’s eyebrow quirking up with distrust.

“And how do you know that?”

“Find not, what you want.”

Luke had always been the more calm one out of himself and his twin; where Leia’s temper was a short fuse to an explosion, Luke’s could burn for hours before the slightest of sparks could be seen. Yet, for some reason, this goblin’s riddling words and omniscient tone seemed to push all the right buttons.

He huffed loudly, crossing his arms over his chest. “You don’t even know who we’re looking for!”

The little goblin hummed in a conspiratorial way, his pointed ears twitching and he started whacking his gimer stick against the boulder he sat upon, seemingly recreating the tune of some Holovid show that Leia could distantly remember.

There was something about the creature that drew Leia in; he’d clearly been alone for too long and lost the majority of his social skills yet there was an intelligence about him. There was deep knowledge in his roots and as Luke muttered words across their bond ( _‘I think we found Dagobah’s crazy swamp person’_ ), Leia couldn’t help but feel as if all the answers they sought were right in front of them.

“You know who we’re here to see, don’t you?”

The creature paid her no heed, continuing to hum his tune as if she’d never spoken.

“You know where he is!”

Again, she was ignored. But at her words, the goblin stood up from his place upon the rock and with grace neither Luke or Leia had expected, he jumped to the floor, waddling away with his gimer stick held tightly in one of his green, clawed hands.

“Hey!” Leia felt a rush of anger as she followed the creature who was hobbling away, humming once again. She recognised the tune to be one from an acclaimed Holo-drama that had become popular in the decade before the Clone Wars begun. “I’m talking to you!”

A vine got in her way but Leia batted it away with more aggression that needed. She wondered if this goblin was purposely trying to anger her by ignoring every word she said. She heard Luke’s boots crunching on the twigs and dead leaves behind her and further back, Threepio moaned at having to venture through the forest once again.

“Hmm, quick to anger, you are.”

Another vine got in Leia’s way and her frustrations increased at the subtle dismissal the creature had sent back to her. “Perhaps if you weren’t so infuriating, we’d get along better,” she couldn’t help but sass, ducking under a branch.

“Look,” Luke caught up to Leia, feeling as equally frustrated as his sister as the goblin hobbled deeper into the swamp. “If you know where the person we’re looking for is, it would save us a lot of time in trying to find him.”

The goblin hummed in a thoughtful way. “Much anger I sense in you both. Much fear.”

Luke paused, hating how exposed he felt.

“This isn’t some group therapy session!” Leia’s voice rose a fraction, her anger getting the better of her. Her frustration felt red hot in her chest, the goblin’s infuriating attitude making her want to punch a tree to try and release some of the tension brewing within her. _Why couldn’t he just answer her questions?_

But when Leia looked down at her clenched fists, she saw red. Blood was once again underneath her nails, etched upon the lines of her palms and glued between the gaps in her fingers. A shuddery breath escaped Leia’s lips and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to release her anger into the Force.

 _Breathe,_ she told herself. _In, out. In, out. Calm down._

Like steam being released, her anger slowly ebbed away and when Leia opened her eyes, looking down at her uncurled fists, the horrific redness was gone.

The goblin hummed, having paused a little way in front of them, a sad look coming across his face. There was disappointment there yet a hint of pride. As if he was disheartened by Leia’s hot-headed temper but satisfied at how quickly she’d been able to release it.

“Powerful, hmm, you are,” the goblin’s voice was low, almost as if he was conspiring with them. His eyes moved from both Luke and Leia, looking at them as if he could see right into their souls, their very beings exposed before the goblin. “Dangerous, it makes you.”

“Danger follows us around but _we’re_ not dangerous,” Luke shot back. He tried to ignore the distant and half-forgotten screams of all the strangers in the nightmares he’d been burdened with on Coruscant.

 _Have mercy,_ they’d screamed . . . it felt so long ago now that those nightmares had almost become memories.

The goblin looked thoughtful for a second before turning around and continuing to hobble on. “Hmm, dangerous, you are.”

Leia shook her head, wondering if it wasn’t in this goblin’s nature to be anything but forthcoming in the vaguest of ways. She decided to end with the games and just cut to the chase.

“I don’t know who you are but I have a feeling you know who we are. We came here to find a former Jedi Master, can you take us to him?”

The goblin didn’t stop in his hobbling on, moving around vines on the floor and using his gimer stick to whack at any predatory animals that got too close in the hopes of making him their next meal. “Find a Jedi Master here, you will not.”

Luke’s shoulders visibly slunched and despair crept up inside him. Leia, however, didn’t buy it. “Why do I get the sense that you’re lying?”

The goblin chuckled, a little hum escaping him. “One person’s truth, hmm; a truth for another, it is not.”

Luke groaned. “You really love these riddles, don’t you?”

The goblin didn’t reply but as the twins looked up, they realised they’d finally broken free out of the swamp forest and into a clearing. Swampy water surrounded them, vines and twigs sticking out of the murky liquid and before them, was a narrow patch of land that led to a hut on a circular plain.

The hut looked small, designed in a knock-off igloo shape, and as the goblin made his way across the narrow land towards it, there was no doubt in Luke and Leia’s mind that the hut belonged to their new friend. It had clearly been the stump of a tree that the goblin had cut into, fastening a stable shelter with a door and multiple windows.

“Come, come,” the goblin paused, freeing a hand from his gimer stick to motion for the twins to follow him.

 _‘Uh, stranger danger!’_ Luke shot across his bond with his sister as Leia made a move to actually follow the goblin into his hut.

_‘It’s probably safer inside there than outside with all these swamp creatures!’_

Luke wanted to argue but he knew Leia had a point. And if the goblin did turn out to be a homicidal, senile maniac who’d lured the twins in to his hut to kill them . . . _well,_ Luke thought; _between the frog and his father’s lightsaber, the lightsaber would win._

There was not much inside the hut; rooms had been created, with compartments shaved into the wood and there was a pot placed over a homemade fireplace with some kind of broth inside it. But as the twins walked inside, they realised that they didn’t have to duck as they made their way around the home of this goblin. The ceilings had all been extended up, as if designed for a person taller than the creature before them.

As the twins sat down, being mindful to stay away from the fastened table where a small snake was withering around on the surface, the goblin made his way over to the pot of broth, easily starting up a fire.

“Eat, hmm, you should.”

“Oh, uh, no thank you, we’re not very hungry,” as Luke spoke, his stomach let out a loud rumble. “We just want to find the person we came to see.”

“Patience, hmm, you lack. Skill, needed it is, to become a Jedi.”

Leia shook her head. “We’re not here to become Jedi.”

“Seek a Jedi Master, hmm, yet you do?”

“Not for the purpose of being trained.”

“Power, hmm, you do possess; honed by light nor dark, it is not,” the goblin stirred the broth, waddling over to the table as he grabbed two small bowls that seemed to have be made from the same type of bark as the tree they were inside. “Vulnerable, hmm, you are.”

Luke’s nose crinkled up as the goblin used a ladle to pour broth into the bowls. “Vulnerable to what?”

As the goblin hobbled over, handing each twin a small bowl of the rather unappetising looking broth, he grew suddenly serious. His voice was low and his eyes once again looked into their souls. “Darkness.”

His word sent a shiver down Luke and Leia’s spines and in order to distract themselves they raised their spoons, deciding to try the broth before them. Only to immediately cringe. And stifle a gag.

‘ _Well, one thing is for sure: he’s no professional chef.’_

_‘I think I’ve had melted ration bars which tasted better than this.’_

They put their bowls down, knowing it would only make their stomachs revolt if they attempted a second taste. Outside the hut a light rain started to fall and guilt ebbed into Luke’s chest as he stared out the window to see Threepio and Artoo standing in the mud, unable to make it inside the narrow-built entrance.

“You used to be a Jedi, didn’t you?” Leia spoke suddenly, making the goblin pause in his pottering around.

“Hmm, long time ago, long, long.”

Luke’s eyebrows raised and everything suddenly made sense. He wondered how he hadn’t put the pieces together sooner, like Leia had. “You’re a survivor of the Jedi Purge?”

A sadness enveloped the goblin and he shook his head very slowly. “Survived that, no Jedi did. Destroyed everything, hmm, the Sith did.”

Leia could sense the goblin’s moroseness radiating off him, her heart feeling heavy at his grief. “I’m sorry, we know a little about what happened and the devastation caused. It must’ve been . . . hard to live through.”

“Like cries, hmm, felt them all; all gone, hmm, like that.” He snapped his claw-like fingers together, shaking his head.

It reminded Leia of Alderaan, watching that green laser shoot out and then seconds later hearing a trillion cries of help which suddenly got silenced in the midst of their yells. The echo of silence had almost rendered her broken, their pain feeling like her own. She wondered how much more devastating it must’ve been to be properly trained, hearing the dying cries of those you considered family.

“The person we’re looking for used to a Jedi but I guess he gave most of that up when we were born and he took us into hiding,” Luke’s voice was soft.

“Hmm, against my better judgement, yes.”

Both Luke and Leia’s eyebrows raised. “Wait— what?”

“Separated, hmm I said; separate them we should. Listen, he did not. Darkness he could’ve invited in, hmm, danger it could’ve caused.”

Leia blinked, wondering if she was hearing this right. “Are you saying that you were there when we were born?”

“Devastating, devastating day, hmm, hope you brought. Flicker of light in darkness raging on; safe, I wanted to keep it. Separated, hmm, you should’ve been.”

Luke and Leia shared a look, trying to wrap their minds around what they’d just learnt. This little goblin, a senile and rather infuriating riddle-speaker, had been there for their birth. They recalled Obi-Wan mentioning that two others had been there for their birth: Bail Organa and a Jedi Master; but they’d never pictured that Jedi Master to be the creature standing before them.

“So,” Luke paused for a second. “You really do know who we are? Who our father is?”

“Much of him, hmm, I sense in you.”

“I don’t know if you mean it as such, but I see that to be a good thing. Our father was a Jedi: he was a hero! He’s still alive trapped inside the Sith shell, he’s fighting to get out, I just know it.”

“Man he was once was, hmm, no longer he is. Gone, hmm, dead.”

Luke clenched his fists, wondering why every single person this topic was brought up to seemed to think the same. He knew that with Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and Leia it was more of a coping mechanism to save the memory of Anakin from the foul actions caused by Vader but with this goblin, Luke became angry at how the former Jedi spoke as if his word was law.

“He’s in there.”

“Blindly searching for a father, you are. Only misery, hmm, will you find.”

Luke wondered if this goblin would say that had he seen how caring Vader had acted to his son on Coruscant. Yes, the Sith was a monster and yes, he’d tortured and killed more people than Luke would ever know. But he’d also brushed a cool towel on Luke’s face when he’d been ill and applied bacta-patches to his bruises when he’d fallen over. There had also been a time when Luke, recently new to Coruscant, had gotten lost in Imperial City and for hours Vader had searched him, ignoring his duties for the Empire.

 _I do not know what I would have done had you not returned to my side,_ Vader had said on the speeder ride home, having sounded rattled after the teary one-sided hug that Luke had given him when they’d reunited.

Thoughts of his father had Luke feeling sombre.

“You think that we’re already lost, don’t you?” Leia’s breath hitched and she didn’t know whether to feel offended or defeated. “You called us dangerous earlier and now your saying you sense much of our father inside of us. You think we’re already too late to save. That there's darkness inside us.”

The former Jedi Master didn't confirm or deny Leia's statement, instead he shook his head. “Training, hmm, you need.”

“But we don’t want to be Jedi!”

 _Yet,_ Luke mentally added.

This made the goblin seem curious and his ears twitched, giving Leia an odd look at her words. “Why, hmm, you decide so?”

Leia wondered if he really wanted to hear all her thoughts about the Jedi. In theory, they’d been good and assets to peace but when put into action, their Order had become corrupt and self-righteous. Considering the grief the goblin still seemed to carry, she wondered if she should censor herself— if only a little.

“Well, for one thing, the Order you lived by would tell me that I cannot love my brother. Or even love at all.”

“See this as a fault, hmm, you do?”

“I don’t know how you can expect people to be compassionate and care for others yet not become attached to them. Luke’s a nerf but I love him and the Order says that such is a bad thing.”

“Attachment, hmm, dangerous it can be. Lead to anger, it can; to hate, to suffering.”

Luke frowned. “But such emotions are natural! It’s just the way you expel them that can be dangerous. Telling someone to never feel those emotions is impossible.”

“And I know you cared about your fellow Jedi, seeing them as a possible family, almost. Surely, that in itself, is an attachment?”

“Go, I have let them,” the former Jedi hummed. “One with the Force they are, accepted that, hmm, I have.”

Leia couldn’t help but add, “But then why are you still grieving for them?” At her words the goblin went silent, letting out only a broken sigh as if even he knew the hypocrisy he’d been spewing. At over 900 years old, he knew the last sixteen had been the worst of his life: his mourning and his failure following him around like a shadow.

“You have no right to tell people how to feel,” Leia spoke softly, feeling as if she’d won the fight.

“Or expect them to be machines that follow the thin-lined rule that had been made centuries earlier. By creating an environment where natural emotions such as anger and fear is frowned upon, all it does is create resentment— trust me, bottling things up can be deadly.”

Luke thought of his time under Palpatine’s thumb. He’d been purposely isolated from his peers by the Emperor, with the Sith knowing that anyone who Luke spoke to would be powerless to help him. His father had been lightyears away, just like Obi-Wan Kenobi had been on the other side of the Galaxy when Anakin himself had been in need of his only parental figure’s guidance. The darkness had latched onto Luke’s sense of alienation and hopelessness, attempting to repeat the results made sixteen years ago with Luke’s father.

His father had been alienated by the Order, the darkness chasing him into a corner he couldn’t escape from. And where the Order had ignored Anakin’s calls for help, Leia had answered Luke’s.

Attachment could be dangerous, they both knew that. Force, if the Sith held a lightsaber to either one of their heads, they both knew the other would submit.

But there was power in attachment as well, Luke and Leia knew that too. Reasons to live, give reasons to die. What was the point in living if you didn’t have people by your side?

Love gave things meaning.

“I’m glad that Luke and I weren’t separated,” Leia kept her chin raised as she spoke, not letting the Jedi’s air of superiority affect her. “I’m glad that Obi-Wan ignored you and that he took Luke and I to be raised together. One of the Jedi’s philosophies is that nothing happens by chance: it is all the will of the Force. By that philosophy, Luke and I’s birth was no accident, we were born for a reason— and the fact we were born as twins was a reason too. I don’t think we were ever meant to be sent apart.”

The goblin didn’t reply but he didn’t seem to agree either.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” there was an edge to Luke’s voice, his annoyance at the goblin being made known. “But I think we should be leaving.”

It was pouring down with rain outside the Jedi’s hut and as the twins stepped outside, the goblin didn’t call for them to return. Artoo and Threepio both seemed rather happy to see them again as they took off away from the hut, with Threepio cheering about how they’d not been murdered by the goblin he stated he’d never liked in the first place.

“Stupid Jedi,” Leia hissed, kicking at a puddle as they marched away from the hut. The storm was rather unpleasant, the water feeling like a monsoon as it poured down and soaked every inch of their clothes and bodies, but both Luke and Leia preferred it outside compared to listening to the goblin’s views on how they should’ve been separated at birth.

Luke’s hair was clinging to his fringe like paste and Leia’s once-delicately braided locks were now falling free down her back. The wind whipped at them, the water managing to creep under their orange flight-suits and into their boots so puddles formed between their toes.

“Why is it that institutional attachment to the Jedi Order is allowed yet personal attachment is forbidden?” Luke huffed, smacking a vine out of his way, getting a flood of water to fall down upon him as a leaf overturned.

“How dare he say we should’ve been separated at birth! How would that have solved anything apart from cause us more pain?”

“When we were born, we weren’t people to him, we were weapons. He saw our birth as something to be used against the Sith. To end our father.”

Leia let out a noise of frustration, hearing Artoo’s worried beeps from behind her. She paused for a second, turning to see their droids paused a few metres away, mud covering their feet.

“Master Luke, Mistress Leia, are you quite alright? Whatever that rude, little creature said, I’m sure it isn’t true.”

Luke let out a sigh, somehow feeling better just by the protocol droid’s words. “Thank you, Threepio, we—ahh!” Like the ground underneath them was sinking, Luke felt a sudden gravitational pull for him to go down. Beside him, Leia started sinking as well, her eyes wide.

Their legs seemed glued to the floor and the harder they struggled, the quicker they seemed to go down. The mud around them was thick and as if a hole had opened up, it started to swallow the twins, sending them down, down, down. Before long, they were already up to their waists in mud.

“Quicksand!” Leia screamed, thrashing in the mud as her hands slapped the surface as if she could free herself by simply pushing herself out. The rain continued to pelt down, running down their faces and hitting the ground they were sinking into.

“Stop thrashing!” Luke yelled back, remembering the training Uncle Owen had given him about Tatooine and the known patches of quicksand that seemed to be dotted around the planet. _Don’t thrash, you’ll sink quicker,_ he’d said, talking seriously to his young nephew so the point would be embedded into his mind. _Find something to pull you out. Grab something and do not let go._

“Threepio grab a stick!”

The golden droid stressed, yelling about how he didn’t want Luke and Leia to die as he stumbled around on the edge of the quicksand, trying to find a long enough stick to pull them out with. “Oh Master Luke! Mistress Leia! You must survive!”

“Hurry Threepio! Get a stick, quick!”

Threepio extended out a thick stick, his worried tones now being drowned out by Artoo’s screeching. Luke grabbed onto the end and he was pulled out up to the top of his hips before Threepio stumbled over, the branch falling to the floor as Luke begun to sink again.

“Help!” Leia yelled, her arms above the surface as she started to sink down to her shoulders. The tugging of the quicksand was too strong to fight and it was like hands were gripping her feet, pulling her down, down, down.

Artoo shot out a cable which Leia caught easily but as the droid screeched and tugged, putting all his effort into trying to pull Leia out as Threepio stood up once again and extended the stick to Luke, nothing seemed to be working. The twins continued to sink and they knew, before long, they’d be pulled under with no chance of escape.

But then, like invisible hands had hooked themselves under their armpits, they started to rise out of the quicksand and up into the air. With their feet safely on the ground (that wouldn’t sink underneath them) the twins exchanged looks of incredulity.

“Did you just—“

“No, did you?”

“No . . .”

A voice from the shadows spoke, making both Luke and Leia freeze, their hearts skipping a beat as they dared to dream. _Please,_ they begged, _please._

“Why is it that when it comes to you two, trouble seems to follow?”

And then, out of the shadows, stepped an old man. His hair was completely white, his beard neatly shaved with speckles of dark grey dotted around like pepper and there were wrinkles lining his face. He, just like the Jedi they’d left behind in the hut, was wearing tanned robes and a brown cloak but unlike the other Jedi, he had a lightsaber hanging from his belt.

But underneath the grey and the wrinkles, were a pair of eyes that Luke and Leia knew they’d recognise anywhere. Pale blue eyes filled with love.

Obi-Wan.

“Hello there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry but the fact it took 31 chapters for Obi-Wan to come back makes me want to cry


	32. Reunion Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rather long so please brace yourselves! It also took ages to write which is why it was updated later than usual. Please enjoy! The reunion of the twins and Obi-Wan is finally here!

_Sixteen years ago . . ._

When Obi-Wan Kenobi had been sixteen, he’d fallen in love for the first time.

Her name had been Satine Kryze and she’d been the Duchess of Mandalore, in need of his protection when insurgents had risen up to fight against her pacifist rule. It hadn’t taken long for Obi-Wan to fall in love and the second he’d realised that truth, he’d known he’d been a goner.

Satine had matched his wit, being able to take all his sarcasm on the chin and retaliate in cool tones and her idealism and non-violent beliefs had been enough for Obi-Wan to feel captivated by her. He could’ve glided his fingers through her blonde hair for hours as the nights on the run had waned on, never tiring because it had been _her_ and every part of her had been beautiful to his eyes.

And when she’d told him that she’d felt the same way, that her heart had his name written all over it, for the first time in Obi-Wan Kenobi’s life, he’d felt euphoric. No sensation, no feeling, no amount of using the Force could ever compare to the emotion Obi-Wan had felt when Satine Kryze had whispered the words “I love you,” which had been forever sketched on his heart.

They both knew that, had she said the word, he never would have left her side. But she hadn’t and so Obi-Wan had left.

When Obi-Wan Kenobi had been twenty-five, he’d felt love once again— yet a different kind of love. It had been just as consuming as his love for Satine had been but all the more unconditional and platonic.

And unlike with Satine, when Obi-Wan had looked into her blue eyes knowing that the next day was not promised and that his heart skipped a beat when she looked back at him, Obi-Wan had not known when exactly he’d started to love Anakin.

He didn’t know when the boy went from a promise to his Master, to younger brother, to son. All Obi-Wan knew was that he’d looked at Anakin one day, fresh faced, his Padawan braid starting to grow out, and he’d known that, no matter what, the boy would forever live in his heart.

And through all the teenage arguments, the demands of “why” when asked to do something and the tantrums over training, Obi-Wan had loved Anakin, plainly and simply. It had been a silent love, one he’d hoped had been heard through the softness of his voice when they reconciled after a fight and one he’d hoped his actions had conveyed when he’d sat beside his Padawan’s medical bed, refusing to move when the boy had been hurt.

They’d grown to be a team, two halves of one whole that seemed to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Kenobi and Skywalker; a duo no one could deny was insurmountable.

And whether Anakin knew it or not, had it ever come down to the Jedi or choosing Anakin, Obi-Wan would've walked out those Temple doors every single time.

The first time Obi-Wan had felt heartbreak, he’d been twenty-five, holding his dying Master in his arms as Qui-Gon had whispered one last wish before becoming one with the Force.

The second time Obi-Wan had felt heartbreak, he’d been thirty-seven, holding Satine in his arms, a hole in her torso from where Maul had stabbed her, as she’d professed her undying love for him before her last breath had escaped her.

The third time Obi-Wan felt heartbreak was now; he was thirty-eight, his robes slightly burnt from the lava on Mustafar and his entire body felt completely defeated. Ready to cave in and shut down. Obi-Wan knew that if his heart stopped right now, it would almost be a blessing.

Everything about him _hurt_ , the duel he’d withstood with Anakin— no, Vader, it was Vader now— had been tiring and depleted all his strength. And as Obi-Wan sat in the chair he felt no motivation to move from, even hours after the meeting he’d had with Master Yoda and Bail Organa regarding the children’s futures, his heart felt heavy like a great big weight pulling him down.

His head hung low, his auburn hair, peppered with grey strands he’d blamed Anakin for whenever the younger man had done something reckless, fanned out around his eyes. His cheeks felt stiff from the tears he’d been unable to hold in, the tracks having long since dried.

Where Satine’s death had chipped his heart, Anakin’s death had shattered it.

For Anakin _was_ dead, there was no doubt in Obi-Wan’s mind on that. Whether Vader survived Mustafar or not (the more Obi-Wan thought about it, the more he wished he’d offered some kind of mercy killing to the Sith) Anakin had died. The man Obi-Wan had seen on Mustafar had not been his self-proclaimed brother, his son in all but blood; it had been a dangerous Sith, full of delusion and lust for a power Obi-Wan knew to be inhumane.

All doubts Obi-Wan had had, all hope he’d held onto when he’d watched the hologram of Anakin kneeling before a Sith and raising his lightsaber to Jedi that had been his brothers and sisters in the Temple, had been banished when the Sith’s gloved hand had raised and choked the air out of Padme’s lungs.

Out of all the terrible things Ana— Vader had done, _that_ had been the one thing that had proved to Obi-Wan that the nine year old boy he’d raised, the one who’d spent ten years daydreaming about the Queen of Naboo, had died.

At thoughts of Padme, Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut. Another victim of the Sith. Another who hadn’t deserved their fate. Padme had fought until the end, Obi-Wan knew that; he knew she’d struggled against the hands of death trying to pull her away until both her children had been born. And then once the last remnants of her had graced the Galaxy, both babies healthy despite everything, Padme had had no fight left. She’d struggled for so long to stay awake for the twins' safe birth that once the ordeal had been over, death had claimed her as his own.

As a stray tear rolled down his cheek, running over the tracks that had tried hours ago, Obi-Wan knew that Polis Massa would forever be tainted to him. A place of birth, a place of death and a place of mourning.

The conference room he still occupied was empty now, the meeting that had been held here, deciding the fates of two newborns who’d been born into darkness and destruction, had long ended. Obi-Wan could still see Bail’s haunted eyes and Yoda’s broken demeanour. It had been a long day, not just for him. The Galaxy had been plunged into darkness, an Empire arisen and many good men and women, innocents in all the Sith’s games, had been wiped out.

Palpatine had been playing them all for longer than anyone could’ve ever known, calling the shots in the shadows and pulling at his puppets’ strings to do all his dirty work.

And he’d won.

Everything he’d wanted, he now had. The Jedi Order was gone, massacred in one night; Anakin was by his side, a monster ready to do his Master’s bidding and the Galaxy was his to take— and take it he had.

“Master Kenobi,” the robotic voice of a droid almost startled him out of his thoughts. It had been hours since he’d been left alone in the conference room to rot that the sudden reappearance of a voice outside the one in his head almost made Obi-Wan’s head spin. “I thought I should let you know that the former Senator’s body is being moved. Senator Organa is overseeing this.”

Obi-Wan jerked his head so the droid knew that he’d heard him— the last thing he wanted was for those words to be repeated. Those taboo words . . . _the former Senator’s body_ — was that what Padme had been reduced to now? Just a body? She’d been a brave, powerful young woman with a morality that put others to shame; all she’d wanted to do was the make the Galaxy a better place and help those in need . . . and now her body was being escorted back to Naboo for her family to make funeral arrangements.

And going back with her would be a rather large, very fake, swell to her stomach that Obi-Wan hoped would kill any questions about if the child in her womb had survived.

Or children, as they’d learned during the preparation of the birth. Twins. A boy and a girl: Luke and Leia.

Padme had not known of the second child, the little Leia which the droid had presented when Obi-Wan’s arms had been full of little Luke, so he could only guess that Anakin (nor Vader) had known about the twin matter either.

 _Luke,_ Padme had sighed, the pain of childbirth seeming to fade when she’d stroked the boy’s cheek. _Leia,_ she’d whispered a minute later, too weak to lift her hand as her fight had started to wane once she’d seen with her own eyes that both her children were out in the Galaxy, alive and well.

Obi-Wan didn’t really feel in control of his body as his legs moved, his feet taking each step cautiously and slowly. His brain felt disconnected, too filled to the brim with grief to feel in charge of anything except trying to rein in the constantly overwhelming feeling of wanting to cry. He’d never been a very emotional man— Anakin had used to tease that he was sure Obi-Wan’s heart was just a bunch of circuits akin to a droid whenever they’d watched a Holo, the younger man shedding a few tears at the heartfelt scenes whilst Obi-Wan had watched with a bored expression.

When Satine had died, Obi-Wan had not cried. They’d brimmed in his eyes staring down at her lifeless body, holding her limp in his arms, knowing she would never awake, but they’d not fallen. And then the War had kept him on the move and he’d buried himself in the Order and the fighting until the time flew by and when Obi-Wan had next thought of Satine, he’d only felt numb.

But there was no Order for Obi-Wan to hide behind now, there was no fighting to be done at this hour. They’d lost. Anakin was gone. The tears ran down Obi-Wan’s cheeks.

There was the slight coo of a baby and when Obi-Wan blinked the tears away, he realised he was standing before the basinet where Anakin and Padme’s newborn twins lay. They’d been left under the watchful eye of a nanny droid as preparations for their mother’s body to be returned to her family had been made . . . and whilst Obi-Wan had mourned in a room adjacent for the father they’d never know.

_"My wife and I will take the girl; we’ve always talked about adopting a baby girl. She will be loved with us."_

_"And what of the boy?"_

_"To Tatooine, to his family send him."_

_"I will take the child and watch over him."_

The conversation from hours ago replayed in Obi-Wan’s head and, not for the first time, he wondered if it was right that they had sat down and discussed the futures for two infants who knew not of the hope they’d brought. Bail Organa had been a close friend of Padme’s but did that mean he had a right to determine her daughter’s fate? And Yoda . . . the Jedi had never been overly friendly to Anakin— did he deserve to act as judge and jury to whether Obi-Wan’s brother’s children got to stay together or not?

Here the twins laid, knowing not of what they’d been born into. They didn’t know that they’d been born into a Galaxy where an Empire had triumphed, built on the blood of innocents. They didn’t know that they’d never hear their father’s booming laugh nor feel the love that Obi-Wan had no doubt Anakin would’ve immersed them with. They’d never know what being held in their mother’s arms would feel like, never see her smile nor kiss their heads with the tenderness only Padme could’ve placed.

They didn’t even know that in a few hours time Bail Organa would return from overseeing their mother’s safe arrival on Naboo, the place Obi-Wan could picture Anakin and Padme having gone if they’d been given the chance to be a family, and that when he did, all the twins _did_ know would be taken from them.

For, right now, Luke and Leia lay beside each other, their little limbs brushing against the other as they instinctively curled towards their twin. Where the state of the Galaxy, their father’s submersion into darkness and their mother’s death was unknown to them, all Luke and Leia Skywalker did know was each other.

But soon, even that would be taken from them. Bail Organa would return and he’d pick Leia up with tender care, claim her as his own and give her a life on Alderaan where the name Skywalker would have no relevance, par for a long-dead Jedi she’ll read about in her history books. And Obi-Wan knew, no matter the title and the happy life Bail Organa could give the baby girl sleeping in the basinet before him, the hole Luke would leave behind when Leia is lifted into the Senator’s arms and taken to a planet lightyears away from her twin, would never be filled.

And when Leia is gone from Polis Massa, leaving behind her twin and her Skywalker moniker, Obi-Wan knew he would pick up Luke, travel across the Galaxy and place the boy in Owen and Beru Lars’ arms. He’d watch out for the boy, always from afar, and he knew Luke would spend his life staring up at the stars, wondering why he always felt drawn to the twinkling light that was the Aldera system.

They’d know not of each other or the parents who would’ve loved them so dearly had things been different.

At that thought Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a moment, mentally adding Luke and Leia’s impending separation to the list of devastating things that had occurred within the last two days. Anakin’s fall, the Clone’s betrayal, the Jedi’s massacre, the Sith’s rise, the Republic’s destruction, Padme’s death . . .

There was a raging turmoil in Obi-Wan’s chest as flashes of his friend’s faces passed before his eyes, the security holograms of Anakin slaying Jedi after Jedi, youngling after youngling, burned in his mind. He thought of Cody, a man who’d been his friend, who’d shot him down at the Orders of a Sith. He thought of Rex, Anakin’s trusty Captain, who’d no doubt raised his blaster to Ahsoka . . .

Ahsoka.

More grief flooded Obi-Wan’s system and his hands gripped the edge of the Skywalker twins’ basinet in the attempt to stay on his feet and not topple over as his kneels wobbled. Was she alright? Was she alive? She should’ve been on her way to Coruscant, the Siege of Mandalore finally over, Maul in tow, when the command had been put through for the Jedi Purge to begin.

She would’ve been in hyperspace . . . on a Star Destroyer filled with Clones . . .

_"Tell Anakin—"_

_"I will."_

There had been an air of hostility between them at the end, the whole Temple Bombing incident and Obi-Wan’s seat on the Council brewing distrust between the pair but he’d never once stopped caring for Ahsoka. He’d never believed her capable of the crimes she’d been arrested for and in the sea of voices calling her guilty, his had been drowned out demanding her innocence.

But none of that had mattered in the end, Ahsoka had left the Order even after her name had been cleared. And with her, a little piece of Anakin had gone as well.

As he closed his eyes, Obi-Wan pictured the spunky fourteen year old who’d walked off the freighter on Christophsis, trying to paint her attitude and enthusiasm into his memory forever. Beside her lived the thousands of others who Obi-Wan promised himself to never forget . . . Plo Koon, Master Windu, Ayala Secura, Luminara Unduli . . .

A sound from below him had Obi-Wan opening his eyes, his pained blue meeting the innocent gaze of a far more innocent and curious blue. Luke, he realised.

The boy seemed to have awoken from his nap, whether because of the unrelenting turmoil Obi-Wan was sending out into the Force or simply because he’d decided to wake, Obi-Wan had no clue. But the boy, Anakin’s son, his first born, was awake and he reached one miniature hand up, his tiny fingers spreading before his face.

Both of the twins were rather small, the combination of their premature birth and the shared space in their mother’s womb, meaning they were predictably smaller than what Obi-Wan guessed most newborns must weigh. Yet they seemed perfect, with ten fingers and ten toes each and a little tuff of blonde on the top of Luke’s head and a little tuff of brown on Leia’s.

Already, Obi-Wan could tell each child would take after a respective parent in terms of looks. Luke, with his bright blue eyes that made Obi-Wan’s breath hitch as memories of Anakin came flooding back and Leia, with the shape of her face so similar to Padme’s.

It didn’t take long for Leia to be awoken by her twin, Luke’s little limbs wriggling so much that one unnecessary to jab to her side and the little girl woke up with a startled cry. Her face scrunched up and Obi-Wan didn’t need to be a genius to know how Leia would react to her nap being cut short because of her brother’s squirming.

The cry she let out was both piercing and irksome, her loud wails drowning all of Obi-Wan’s other thoughts out.

He’d never been a fan of younglings, always doing his best to avoid time in the Temple creche. But as Leia cried, it felt almost instinctive for Obi-Wan to reach down in the basinet and attempt to sooth her.

 _She has Anakin’s short-temper,_ Obi-Wan couldn’t help but think to himself as he brushed a soft thumb against Leia’s forehead, sending soothing emotions across the Force to her to try and end the shrilling shrieks she was letting out. It took a moment but Leia eventually calmed down, her hand reaching out just like Luke’s and Obi-Wan found his thumb wrapped around by infant fingers.

Luke’s face scrunched up and in order to avoid the noise he knew would match his sister’s, Obi-Wan lowered his left hand into the basinet. And just like Leia, Luke latched on to him, his fingers looking unbearably small compared to Obi-Wan’s own.

Anakin’s children.

The thought came to Obi-Wan so suddenly and for the first time since their birth, he realised that Luke and Leia weren’t a concept. For all intents and purposes, neither of them should exist. And Obi-Wan knew he should be mad that they do, he should be disappointed in Anakin for giving in to his attachment to Padme and breaking the Code in such a massive way . . . but what was the point in that anger or that disappointment?

Anakin wasn’t here to lecture, there wasn’t an Order anymore to abide by the rules to and if Obi-Wan was being honest, had the Sith not won, had the Jedi survived and had Anakin been standing beside him now, introducing Obi-Wan to his children for the first time, Obi-Wan didn’t even think the thought to be mad or disappointed would even cross his mind.

Baby Luke let out a yawn, his face scrunching up in a way that Obi-Wan had seen Anakin’s do a million times. He blinked blearily and Obi-Wan felt his heart tug, knowing that soon this boy would be sent off to a waste of a planet where he’d know not of the brave Knight his father had been nor the gracious Senator his mother had been.

Sure, Luke and Leia Skywalker should not exist— they were forbidden to exist— and yet they _did_ and as Obi-Wan looked down into their blameless faces, he knew they were all he had left of Anakin. Of Padme. Of hope.

Owen and Beru Lars had not known Padme Amidala nor Anakin Skywalker. They hadn’t known that underneath Anakin’s rough exterior had been a heart so large or that Padme’s drive for change had been fuelled by her kindness. Bail Organa had not known the man behind Anakin’s Hero With No Fear facade and whilst Obi-Wan knew Leia would grow up hearing stories about the courageous Senator Amidala, he also knew that Padme would forever be depicted as the Queen who’d saved her planet and not the mother who’d stared death in the face and fought to stay alive just long enough for her babies to be born.

Obi-Wan knew that at this moment, in this time of grief, a lot of things were confusing and jumbled in his mind. He didn’t really know why the Clones had turned on them, he didn’t really know why Anakin had bent his knee to a Sith and sold his soul . . . he didn’t really know why, when so many had died, the Force had allowed for him to cheat death once again.

But what he did know, with every bone in his body, was that neither Anakin nor Padme would’ve wanted this.

They wouldn’t have wanted for their children to be orphans. They wouldn’t have wanted for them to be separated hours after their birth. They wouldn’t have wanted for their children to be raised with no knowledge of where they’d come from or the family who would’ve loved them so.

Obi-Wan knew that Anakin and Padme would’ve wanted to leave everything behind, the Jedi and the Senate, and they would’ve wanted to take their children to Naboo. They would’ve wanted Luke and Leia to be raised amongst the beauty, running in the fields and living lives they’d been denied.

They’d have wanted for their children to be carefree. To be happy. To be together.

Obi-Wan wasn’t sure if the plan his mind had suddenly formed was a good one or not. He’d always been so practical, taking the time to think things through and even meditate on other possible choices so he would know that his next step would be methodical and smart.

That was just how he’d always been: practical; realistic. Making intelligent choices through the means of a clear mind and rational thinking.

But, as Anakin would say, sometimes you have to take a leap and trust in yourself. _Wing it,_ he’d say. _Do what you think is right even if others don’t agree._

And so for the first time, Obi-Wan didn’t stop and question himself at every possible aspect, he didn’t overthink the situation and he decided to follow his gut. Whether Master Yoda or Bail Organa would agree, Obi-Wan knew that the plan he’d formed in his mind felt more right than any of his previous actions made in the past few days.

Lifting Luke and Leia up from their basinet, Obi-Wan felt no sense of impending calamity, just silence: reassurance, even. The Force agreed with him. This was right.

In his arms, Luke and Leia fit perfectly, their little bodies feeling like welcoming weights that chased away a little of his pain. They didn’t cry or squirm as they nestled in to the crook of his arms and Obi-Wan took that as a sign that they agreed with his impromptu decision as well.

Maybe he was being selfish or even careless, something he’d never been before. Maybe Anakin wouldn’t want for him to raise his children. Maybe Padme would disagree with the way he was planning to do this. Maybe he wasn’t the best person for the job. He’d already failed one Skywalker, why should he be given the chance to possibly fail two more?

But Force, Obi-Wan had loved Anakin and he knew he would do anything for the younger man’s children. His love for the twins wouldn’t be silent like it had been for their father, no rules would keep him from giving Luke and Leia what they’d need and whether he deserved the twins after everything that had happened, he promised to do right by them.

He’d raise them to be children in the way Anakin would’ve wanted. To be on Naboo, like Obi-Wan was sure Padme had dreamed.

As he got accustomed to the weight of the twins in his arms, leaving a message with the nanny droid to relay to Bail Organa offering his apologies and his reasonings, Obi-Wan knew this was a start to a life he’d never expected to have. A life he’d only consider because of Anakin.

When Obi-Wan Kenobi was thirty-eight years old, his entire life having unraveled before his eyes and his heartbreak becoming him, he let himself feel love once again.

Luke and Leia Skywalker were the light in the darkness, the hope that lifted Obi-Wan’s soul and the only remedy to the pain Anakin had caused. His love was just as unconditional as it had been to Anakin and where he knew he would never be able to forget or forgive, he knew his love had withstood. Even when the younger man’s eyes had burned yellow and he’d lifted his lightsaber in a means of attack, Obi-Wan had still loved him. And he would forever love him, his only saving grace being the twins Anakin had left behind.

And Obi-Wan knew as he carried the babies to a shuttle, for the first time in his thirty-eight years of living, by following his gut, he’d made the best decision of his life.

* * *

Luke and Leia blinked, wondering if, after all this time, their blind hope at finding Obi-Wan was making them delusional. The man before them didn’t look like the man who’d spoken his goodbyes to them on Alderaan and Tatooine respectively.

He looked like he’d aged twenty years rather than just the mere six; his auburn locks were gone, replaced completely by white and the grey in his beard aged him far more than the wrinkles by his eyes. There was a slight weariness to the man, like all his hope had been sucked out . . . but when he looked into Luke’s blue eyes and Leia’s brown, there was so much fondness there. So much unconditional love staring back at them.

“Hello there.”

Obi-Wan; it was him, they knew that now with no doubt in their minds. He looked older, he seemed wearier but it was him and that fact alone made Luke and Leia feel as if all their hope, all their dreaming, had been worth it.

Without wasting a beat, they raced towards the man, feeling like the children they used to be.

Obi-Wan was not the agile man he’d once been but he didn’t fault as his arms opened up to welcome the twins in, just as he’d done a million times before. They were older and bigger than the last time, no longer the ten year olds he’d been forced to leave, but they fit in his embrace like a jigsaw puzzle sliding into place.

 _Home,_ Leia thought as she pressed her cheek against Obi-Wan’s shoulder, Luke directly beside her. It was so mundane and yet it was perfect. It was all she’d wanted for six years, ever since the word separation had been spoken and her life had turned upside down.

“You’ve grown up,” Obi-Wan mumbled, his beard tickling their foreheads. There was a sadness to his voice and he spoke like he’d expected it to happen yet resenting that fact anyway. Six years wasn’t grand on many scales but from the ages of ten to sixteen, it felt like a lifetime.

They weren’t the adorable ten year olds who’d come home from school with fresh faces and new stories to badger him with; they were teenagers, closer to maturity than their childhood, looking more like adults than the children he’d tucked into bed.

“We missed you,” Luke sighed with all the contentedness he’d been missing the past six years. He was grateful for the time he’d spent with his father— truly, he was— the past five and a half years had given him the chance to see the man behind the mask and for his faith in the man he’d been hidden from to be restored. But here, with Obi-Wan holding him and Leia beside him, _this_ was the feeling of family he’d been lacking since they’d packed up and left Naboo.

“And I missed you, young one.”

“Did you really?” Leia pulled out of the hug ever so slightly, looking up at Obi-Wan with wide eyes. There wasn’t much height difference between them now, a vast contrast to when ten year old Leia had been forced to crane her neck up to look Obi-Wan in the eye.

Obi-Wan smiled sadly, freeing a hand to brush some of Leia’s hair out of her face like he’d always done when she’d been upset. “More than you would know.”

The tears that welled up in Leia’s eyes were instinctive and after six years of telling herself to remain strong and to blink the tears back, she let her emotional barriers lower. It had been a long six years— six years of lying, of pretending, of trying to forget— but it was all over now. Obi-Wan was here, Luke was here and the family they’d made for themselves when the Galaxy had burned was finally pieced back together.

The floodgates opened and as Leia sobbed into Obi-Wan’s chest, the fabric of his robes getting damper and damper as her breaths hitched and her body shook, Leia let herself feel all the pain she’d been desperately trying to hold back. The loss, Bail, feeling unable to fit in, feeling abandoned, the terror of thinking she were too late to save Luke, her father’s invisible grip upon her throat, _LIAR_ , Alderaan . . .

But Obi-Wan was as strong and steady as she remembered, his hold never faltering as she let it all out and Luke’s hand slipped into her own and for the first time in a long time, Leia remembered she wasn’t alone. And she never would be again.

* * *

It took them a while— longer than any of them would actually admit— to finally untangle themselves from their long-awaited, much-needed hug. The night had truly set in, the air becoming bitter and the fog starting to grow thick and heavy. There was the odd sounds of fauna nearby, creatures on the prowl for food, but with Obi-Wan before them, neither Luke or Leia felt any fear.

“We should go to shelter,” Obi-Wan suggested as he looked into the darkness of the forest around them. The rain had stopped awhile ago, the humidity of the weather that had settled in in its wake making their clothes feel grungy and their skin gross. “Dagobah is less pleasant at night.”

Leia pursed her lips. “That implies that its pleasant during the day— which I know isn’t true.”

Her words sparked a smile to appear on Obi-Wan’s lips and he let out a chuckle, nodding gently. “That is very true; Dagobah is not the ideal holiday destination, that is for sure. But I do suggest we go to shelter, it will do no good to stay here.”

They were about to head back in the direction where the twins had come from, away from the dark forest, when Obi-Wan paused, his eyes having landed on the two droids who’d finally calmed down from the fiasco of before. Even in the darkness, Luke and Leia could see the frown on Obi-Wan’s face and the question brewing in his eyes. He pointed a finger out at the protocol and astromech droids in the manner as if he didn’t believe they were truly there.

“R2D2? C-3PO?” Obi-Wan turned back to Luke and Leia, one of his eyebrows quirked up. “How did these two come to be here?” And then, like a roll of yarn unravelling, more questions started to bubble out of Obi-Wan’s mouth as all the questions started to appear before him. “And how come you two are here too— on Dagobah, of all places! I left you on Alderaan and Tatooine respectively— why aren’t you still there? Did you sneak away? Please tell me you didn’t sneak away.”

Luke opened his mouth to speak but he was cut in by Obi-Wan as the man pinched the bridge of his nose, adopting a voice he always used to signify he was done with all the Skywalker drama and recklessness. “What am I saying?” Obi-Wan mumbled, mostly to himself. “Of _course_ you snuck away, you wouldn’t be Skywalker’s if you hadn’t.”

After six years, Leia had almost forgotten how dramatic Obi-Wan could be. “That’s a little harsh,” she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

Obi-Wan gave her a pointed look. “Is it not true?”

Leia squirmed, suddenly feeling a little caught out. “Well . . .”

“See?” Obi-Wan raised his hand to stroke his beard, a knowing look in his eye. “I knew it. Six years on and I’m still catching you two with your hands in the cookie jar.”

“We wanted to find you,” Luke sounded sincere, the dark light doing nothing to hide the sad and innocent expression upon his face. “We needed to find you.” As if knowing he couldn’t fault either Luke or Leia on that fact, Obi-Wan sighed.

“I know. And despite you both having clearly snuck away and gone against my wishes of separation to keep you safe, I am glad you did. Now come,” Obi-Wan tilted his head towards the clearing of the forest. “Let us go to shelter, we can talk more there.”

It wasn’t until they broke through the edge of the forest, the Jedi Master who’d insulted the twins hut laying up ahead on a separate patch of land attached by a slim passage, that Luke and Leia realised _this_ was the shelter Obi-Wan was talking about.

 _Separated, hmm I said;_ separate _them we should. Listen, he did not._

Leia grabbed Obi-Wan’s hand, forcing him to pause as they broke through the clearing with the Jedi Master’s hut laying just up ahead. There was a quizzical look upon Obi-Wan’s face but he waited for Leia to say what she wanted first. “Can we stay out here? I don’t want to go back in there yet.”

Luke shook his head for extra measure, staring towards the hut like one would a disgusting looking meal. “No. No thanks. Not there.”

“I’m taking it that you’ve met Master Yoda then?”

Luke crinkled up his nose. “Is that what that frog is called?”

“That _frog_ ,” Obi-Wan gave Luke a look to show he didn’t approve of such terminology. “Is a great and powerful Jedi Master. He was the Grandmaster of the Jedi Council, one of the most skilled and wise Jedi in the entire Order.”

When Luke and Leia still didn’t look very impressed, Obi-Wan continued on. “He even fought and tried to kill the Emperor back when the Sith’s rise was fresh.”

‘ _Obviously he failed that one,’_ Leia sent to her brother through their link, glancing in Luke’s direction. In reply, Luke had to stifle a laugh, biting his tongue as he tried to hide his invasive smirk.

“Master Yoda is to be respected,” Obi-Wan finished, giving the twins a look only a parent could perfect. “Alright?”

Master Yoda’s words were still bouncing around in her brain and the frustration she’d felt in that hut returned at full force. He may be wise and powerful but Leia knew that Yoda would forever be chained to the beliefs the old Order had about attachment and love. Every argument on the subject would be a roundabout with no end.

“He was rude to us!” Leia lifted one hand in the hut’s direction, scoffing like a child who thought their parent wasn’t listening to what they were trying to say. “And mean!” Luke added, nodding wildly.

“Let me guess,” Obi-Wan’s hands found their way to his hips as he stared down at the twins. There wasn’t much a height difference now and had their inherited their father’s tall stature, both Luke and Leia would be the one’s looking down at Obi-Wan. But height had never been something on their side and whilst Obi-Wan had never been a particularly tall man, he was still a few good inches taller than his sixteen year old charges. “You two bumped heads with Master Yoda over his beliefs on attachment?”

Leia paused, momentarily confused at how Obi-Wan had guessed so perfectly. “How did you know that?”

“You two have always been attached at the hip when you’re together; it wasn’t a wild guess to believe you’d take offence to Master Yoda’s stand on such matters.”

“He said that we would’ve been better off separated at birth!” The true offence in Luke’s tone proved to Obi-Wan how they felt on such matters. The elder man hummed in reply, stroking his beard like he always did when deep in thought.

Obi-Wan’s hesitation and the way he momentarily spaced, looking out to the edge of the woods, made Leia frown, her gaze becoming a glare. “You don’t agree with that— _do you_?” Once again, Obi-Wan sighed but his eyes refocused on the twins and he seemed unaffected by Leia’s harsh look.

“If you’re both reluctant to return to Master Yoda’s hut then we should set up camp here. A campfire should keep us warm— it’ll be like when you were children.”

 _‘I don’t recall ever having a campfire on a gross, swampy planet as a kid,’_ Luke sent through his bond to his sister with a rather glum tone. It didn’t take long for the campfire Obi-Wan spoke about to be set up. Three logs had been grabbed through use of the Force as seats for all three of them to rest on and the twins had fetched as many vines and twigs as they could for the fire in the middle to be built. Dagobah was still gloomy and cold but with their amber glow and Obi-Wan, Luke and Leia felt as if they were in a protective bubble.

They sat in silence for a while, watching as the fire grew and taking in as much warmth as they could from it. It wasn’t until the heat helped to dry the dampness of their clothes and warm up their previously frozen fingertips that they all realised how cold they’d actually been.

Luke was the first to speak. His eyes remained glued to the fire, his hands outstretched as close to the flames as he could get before it licked his fingers. “Was it you that I actually heard? I wasn’t dreaming?”

Obi-Wan looked up from the fire, not failing to notice how Luke was purposely avoiding eye-contact. “You’ll have to be more specific I’m afraid.”

“I heard your voice— twice actually. The first time I was in the midst of battle and I needed help and then suddenly your voice was in my head and you were talking to me, giving me advice, helping me. And then again, I was in trouble—“

“The Wampa attack,” Obi-Wan sounded grave as he spoke, the glow of the fire making the lines around his eyes more prominent. “Yes, yes that was truly me. You see, this place is unlike any other. Dagobah acts as a nexus to the Force and the laws of the Force work differently here. I have seen many visions and learnt many truths in my time here because of it.”

“You mean that you saw Luke?” Leia was curious, inching closer in her seat subconsciously. She, too, could feel the strong pull Dagobah had on the Force— she’d been able to feel it from the moment they’d entered the atmosphere. The Force was strong here, it filled her lungs and bones and as easy as breathing, Leia took all of it in. “You saw him being attacked?”

Obi-Wan hummed. “It started first as voices, a persistent cry that made my head ache. It wasn’t until I mediated that the voice became louder and I realised that it was you Luke— you were calling out to me and despite the distance and the time separation, our bond has remained intact. Dagobah helped secure our connected in your time of need. I heard you call for help and I answered.”

 _‘The battle of Yavin,’_ Luke confirmed to Leia, his eyes never leaving Obi-Wan’s.

“The act exhausted me,” Obi-Wan sighed, looking down at the flames. “I could feel the nagging return, another persistent, muffled voice reaching out but I couldn’t sustain it. I’d projected my voice across half the Galaxy and I could not do it again— not so soon.”

 _‘That was me trying to reach him,’_ Leia whispered back to her brother through their bond.

“But then I had a vision,” the grave look on Obi-Wan’s face returned. “Our brief connection must have strengthen our pre-existing bond for I saw the attack on Hoth and I used our connection to project my mind to you. I could sense you were unconscious Luke and I was trying to wake you up.”

Luke sniffed, rubbing his hands together. _I’ve had my share of bad days but the day I gave both you and Leia up was one of the worst._ He’d spent a lot of time deliberating on whether the Obi-Wan he’d seen on Hoth whilst unconscious, hanging upside down in a Wampa’s cave had been real or not.

Luke almost didn’t know how to feel about the fact that Obi-Wan had, in fact, been real.

“It worked,” Luke replied in the end, his voice barely a whisper.

Silence followed them again, the only sounds being that of the flames licking at the burning twigs and the creatures inside the forest as they growled from within. But then Obi-Wan hummed, staring intently at Luke and Leia.

“All of these questions about me and I have still yet to get to my own answers about how you two are together, why and how in the Force did Artoo and Threepio come to be in your possessions? And that’s all before I start asking about what in all Corellia’s Hells you were doing on Hoth?”

It struck the twins suddenly that whilst Dagobah was a nexus of the Force and Obi-Wan had probably done a lot of soul-searching in exile, the planet was also cut off from the rest of the Galaxy. News of the brewing civil war between the Empire and the Rebellion didn’t reach out here and there was a lot of things that Obi-Wan had been left in the dark on.

 _‘He doesn’t know, does he?’_ Leia did her best not to shuffle uncomfortable and Luke suddenly paled.

‘ _No, not a thing.’_

_‘So . . . Vader, you, the Emperor, Alderaan . . . he doesn’t know.’_

_‘Dibs that I don’t have to tell him.’_

Leia sent a glare to her brother, her nose scrunching up a little in anger. _‘You can’t call dibs on something as major as this!’_

_‘Uh, I think I just did.’_

_‘Luke!’_

_‘What? I don’t want to tell him!’_

_‘Neither do I!’_

_‘Then you should’ve called dibs!’_

_‘You nerf—‘_

Leia’s insult was cut into by Obi-Wan’s very loud and obvious cough, grabbing both of their attentions instantly. The elder man’s eyebrows were raised and there was an unimpressed look upon his face. “You know where I stand on communicating between yourselves instead of speaking outright.”

It had always been one of Obi-Wan’s biggest peeves when he caught the twins engaging in a private conversation he was excluded from— especially when they were supposed to all be forthright and tell the truth. Talking amongst themselves, in Obi-Wan’s previous experience, was normally how a lot of Luke and Leia’s reckless plots originated.

“I know, I know,” Leia rolled her eyes. “You don’t like it. We just . . . we don’t know how to tell you all the things that have happened since we last saw you.”

“I’m guessing a lot has changed?”

“More than you know.”

‘ _He really is not going to like this,’_ Luke cringed, glaring at the fire as the feeling of anxiousness crept up in his chest. How was he meant to tell Obi-Wan that he’d been living with the man he’d been previously hidden from? That everything Obi-Wan had done to keep them safe had been undermined by Luke’s stupidity of walking out into the desert alone and Vader finding him?

 _‘No,’_ Leia agreed. ‘ _He really isn’t. Good luck telling him.’_

_‘I called dibs!’_

_‘You say that one more time and trust me, if Obi-Wan doesn’t kill you for moving in with a Sith then I will.’_

Whilst Luke had long since learnt ways to effectively overcome Leia’s threatening tone, he knew also knew that now was not the time to push her. He wouldn’t put it past her to follow through with her threat.

If Obi-Wan noticed they’d lapsed into another private conversation seconds after he’d reprimanded them, he didn’t show it. Instead, he bowed his head. “Please do explain.”

“Well, things were mostly the same for me up until a few months ago,” Leia started, thinking carefully about her choice in wording. She’d been preparing for a life of politics, twisting words to her advantage was her forte. “I was on Alderaan, just where you left me, fitting into my life as Princess . . .”

“Why do I feel as if whatever is about to be revealed involves Luke more than you?” Obi-Wan cut in, his eyebrow raised.

“Because you know us so well?” Leia sighed, grimacing. “And it does involve Luke more than I—“

“Something happened.” Luke’s words were sharp and quick. His cheeks were a bright pink and his eyes were wide, the anxiety making them bulge. His lips were pressed together in a tight line and his hands were clasped as if by glue on his lap.

Even if Obi-Wan hadn’t known him as well as he did— and he did— it would’ve been obvious that Luke was uncomfortable and nervous. He never did hide his emotions well.

“Then tell me, Luke.”

Luke fidgeted, shuffling his feat in an awkward gesture. “I don’t know how to.”

“Well,” Obi-Wan teased. “Start by using your words.” When Luke didn’t relax, Obi-Wan leant forwards slightly, a sincere look in his eye. “I am sure nothing you say will be as bad as you think.”

“I’ve been living with my father for the past five and a half years.”

When the awkward silence immediately followed Luke’s words, Leia’s mind was taken back to all those weeks ago when they’d spent the whole night watching terrible holo-movies in the Dantooine base communal room. In those low-budget productions, awkward moments were always filled with the sound of crickets in the distance to truly drive home the awkward tension between the characters.

As the silence ebbed on, Leia heard those crickets play in her mind.

“Please tell me I misheard,” Obi-Wan finally choked the words out, sounding rather appalled. There was a faint frown line on his forehead that dared Luke to even try and lie to him on such matters.

“You didn’t.”

“What are you saying Luke? Six years ago I put you into the care of Owen and Beru Lars on Tatooine who promised to look after you as if you were their own. I did not fly you all the way to Coruscant and hand you to Vader like a lamb to the slaughter, disregarding an entire decade that I spent trying to keep you hidden from him.”

“I know,” Luke drew in a deep breath knowing it was too late to back out now. He had to tell Obi-Wan the truth no matter how hard it was to say. Those five and a half years spent with his father had been spent in denial that the first ten years of his life had been to waste. The lengths Obi-Wan had gone to keep them safe and hidden had all been undermined and having to tell Obi-Wan that suddenly hurt.

He’d never give up those five and a half years with his father but Luke wished that Obi-Wan’s feelings would be spared too.

“It happened six months after I moved in,” Luke felt a wave of courage, speaking the words he’d been scared to say moments before. “I was bored on Tatooine, there was nothing to do and Uncle Owen was on my backside about doing my chores so I decided to go for a walk.” (Luke ignored Leia’s mumble of “stupid” under her breath.) “I became lost . . . and then severely dehydrated. I— I called out with the Force; I was intending for either you or Leia to hear me but—“

Obi-Wan suddenly stood up, a hand running down his face as his eyes closed briefly and his expression became stoney. “Vader heard you instead.”

There was nothing to his tone— no anger, no fear . . . just a broken wobble and heavy disappointment. Obi-Wan remained standing, his gaze looking off to the side to the edge of the swampy forest and there was a dissociating look in his eyes. Luke had expected Obi-Wan to be hurt by the truth he’d struggled to say but to see him look so defeated was almost worse than if the elder man had yelled or cried.

For sixteen years, all Obi-Wan had done was try to protect Luke and Leia. He’d dedicated his life to looking after and doing all he could to protect the twins— to then find out that he’d messed up, that his decision to separate them and leave them in the hands of others had backfired, it was a blow Obi-Wan had never expected to feel. For ten years he’d believed himself to have been selfish in taking Luke and Leia rather than separating them at birth, he’d believed that simply by having them in his life he’d been endangering them . . . but the second he’d given them up and done what he’d thought had been the right thing, Vader had found Luke.

Luke hated how tears pricked in his eyes. “Yes."

“Did he hurt you?” Obi-Wan’s voice was like steel, ready to cut and making a promise to make Vader pay if the boy so much as nodded.

“No!” Luke shook his head, disgusted by the very notion. “Never! I promise Obi-Wan he was a good father to me—“

“A good father? Luke! How many times do I have to say that the Sith _killed_ your father? That monster is not your father— he is _not_ Anakin!”

“He’s still alive! The darkness is there, yeah, and he does terrible things but I swear Obi-Wan, I’ve felt the goodness in him. They aren’t separate people; one didn’t kill the other. He’s my Dad.”

Obi-Wan let out a heavy sigh, giving Luke the saddest look the boy had ever seen. “I wish that were true Luke, I do.”

“Then why don’t you listen to me?”

“Because I’ve seen Vader do things that Anakin would never.”

Leia felt her breath hitch and she closed her eyes as the scene on Mustafar involuntarily crept into her mind. Her mother was grabbing at her throat, her eyes wide and her mouth parted as she wheezed and begged her husband to let her go. _LIAR_ , Vader roared and his anger was as monstrous as Leia had ever seen.

“And I’ve seen Vader do things that only Anakin would.”

Luke’s voice was sharp as he retaliated. It was commonly known that Leia had inherited the Skywalker (or was it more Amidala?) stubbornness but in moments like now, Luke made a show to prove he’d inherited that gene too.

Another moment crossed Leia’s mind: Vader, weary and lost on the Death Star as he begged for his children to return at his side. _Go,_ he’d told them when all hope for them to come with him had been lost. A Sith was possessive, they were cruel and unjust . . . but Vader had let them go because he’d known a life of being on the run, of freedom, was better than servitude.

“You didn’t see him in those five and a half years Obi-Wan,” Luke carried on, desperate to get his point through. “He cared for me, he looked after me, when I was sick he wouldn’t leave my side. When he found me, I could feel how happy he was! He spared Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru’s lives—“

“Oh, how considerate of him.” The infamous Kenobi snark finally broke free and there was a dark look in Obi-Wan’s eyes as he looked down at Luke. “How _kind_ that Vader decided _not_ to kill his son’s guardians in front of him. Perhaps I never should’ve hidden you from him at birth; I’m sure Vader would’ve raised you into wonderful people whose great idea of kindness is sparing someone’s life rather than senselessly murdering them.”

Luke looked down at his hands, feeling his fight wane away. “He cared about me, I know it.”

“Luke, I say this with compassion but Sith are cold and calculating— they do not care for people.”

“He did for me,” Luke sniffled.

“There’s no point arguing Obi-Wan, I’ve told him countless times that Vader is a monster but he doesn’t listen. Even Ahsoka tried to tell Luke that Vader isn’t his real father but Luke just zip-lined straight past that one.”

Obi-Wan’s back straightened, his eyes widened and a flow of relief came off him into the Force. “Ahsoka? As in: Ahsoka Tano?”

“So you _do_ remember her!” Leia snapped her fingers together. She nudged Luke gently with a smile but her brother only gave a half-hearted one back. “We were starting to actually believe that maybe you’d forgotten about her considering you never told us our father used to have a Padawan!”

“I could never forget Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan sounded a little offended at the idea. He stroked his beard, letting the relief wash over him for a second as the news truly sunk in. For sixteen years he’d mourned a friend he’d thought he’d never see again; things hadn’t been left on good terms between him and Ahsoka but Obi-Wan had never not cared for her. For sixteen years she’d been a kind face in his memories, a friend he dwelled on when things seemed too bleak and Obi-Wan needed a reminder that good had once lived in the Galaxy.

“Then how come you never told us any stories about her? You used to tell us so many bedtime stories about our parents and other Jedi but never her! Do you know how thrown off we felt when she said that she used to be Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice and we hadn’t even known our father had _had_ an apprentice?”

Obi-Wan smirked despite everything. “I’m sure you must’ve been shocked. No, the reason I didn’t tell you about Ahsoka was not because I forgot her but because . . . things between us were not left well. Our last conversation wasn’t very warm and if you’d have asked where she was now, I was too afraid of what my answer would be.”

“I think she’s missed you,” Luke’s voice was quiet. “She won’t admit it but I think she does.”

“Well,” Obi-Wan paused for a second. “Then I hope if I see her again, it will be as old friends.”

A low beep from beside Luke had Obi-Wan raising an eyebrow as a previously (and uncharacteristically) silent droid finally joined the conversation. Artoo beeped again and Luke raised a hand to pat the astromech’s dome.

“Artoo says he agrees with me,” Luke smirked.

A knowing smile flitted across Obi-Wan’s lips. “I should’ve known R2D2 would end up in your possession at some point. It seems that droid and Skywalker’s have always been intertwined.” He gave Artoo a smile. “It is very good to see you again Artoo.”

Artoo let out a string of low beeps and whistles, the droid’s words making Luke frown.

“What did he say?” Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, half wishing he’d had some of Anakin’s passion (and Luke’s, it seemed) for droids to have learnt at least a part of binary. It had always come in handy for Anakin to understand Artoo.

“He said: ‘don’t make any loose wire jokes this time’. What does that mean?”

The laugh that rippled out of Obi-Wan’s throat felt long overdue and much-needed. He smiled even more at the astromech droid, a flood of memories coming back as he remembered just why Anakin and Artoo had been so close throughout the War. How many times had he seen his former Padawan and this R2 unit exchange jokes and teasing comments? Obi-Wan had never been attached to any of his droid counterparts but he could understand why Anakin had always considered Artoo as his friend.

“I do not believe we have met,” Threepio then stepped in, clearly not liking the fact that Artoo seemed to be in the spotlight. He stumbled forward, his limbs slightly stiff from the mud and cold air. “I am C-3PO, Human-Cybord—“

“I know who you are, Threepio.”

The golden droid paused and if he could appear confused, his face plate would’ve morphed into a quizzical one. “Oh, dear me. I cannot seem to place you, sir? Are you sure we have met? Or maybe my circuits have been fried . . . oh dear, this is not good!”

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, turning to the twins. It had been a good many years but Obi-Wan doubted Threepio— the droid who remembered everything and made an overreaction of all things possible— would forget him. It wasn’t as if he’d been a frequent guest at Senator Amidala’s penthouse but Obi-Wan had visited enough to become a friendly face.

“What happened to him?”

Leia shrugged as if it were no big deal. “A memory wipe, I think Bail issued it.”

“Ah,” Obi-Wan nodded. “That makes sense. Well, Threepio, I am Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and it is very nice to make your acquaintance— again.” The droid seemed pleased at such introduction for Threepio half-bowed, stating how nice it was to finally meet the Master Kenobi that Luke and Leia had told him so much about.

“So,” Obi-Wan brought his attention back to the twins. “Before we were side-tracked, you never did answer my question on how you two ended up reunited and here of all places?” He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

‘ _We could always lie?’_ Leia suggested across their bond, trying her best to make her face appear neutral. Normally their eyes would appear distant when they communicated across the Force— a look Obi-Wan knew would mean they were going against his wishes and talking behind his back. _‘We could sugar-coat the truth?’_

_‘He’ll find out eventually.’_

_‘I know,’_ Leia had to stifle a sigh. _‘I just . . . don’t feel ready to tell him about Alderaan yet. Do you think he knows?’_

 _‘It’s not like Dagobah has any Holonet channels,’_ Luke sent back. _‘And no one in their right mind would willingly come here to relay that information so I doubt it.’_

_‘We came here.’_

_‘My point exactly.’_

Obi-Wan let out a loud and long sigh, “You’re doing it again.”

“Sorry,” the twins mumbled at the same time, pulling identical guilty expressions. It was just as Obi-Wan had previously said: he always caught them with their hands in the cookie jar— he always had and always will.

“So,” Obi-Wan prompted. “Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to guess? Because its been a while and my ability to guess accurately may be a little rusty.”

‘ _You tell him,’_ Luke sent across the Force, mentally nudging his sister.

Leia frowned, mentally nudging him back. _‘No, you!’_

_‘I told him about Father!’_

_‘So?’_

_‘So that means you tell him the rest! You don’t have to tell Obi-Wan about Alderaan yet if you don’t want to— just tell him about how we came to join the Rebellion.’_

_‘If you know so well on what to tell him, why don’t you do it?’_ Leia crossed her arms over her chest, finding a little amusement at how quickly her brother’s annoyance flared up. Luke had always been the calmer one but when it came to Leia, she managed to push his buttons in a way no one else ever could. Sibling privilege, Obi-Wan used to call it.

‘ _Leia! Tell him!’_

_‘No.’_

_‘Leia!’_

It was all too easy to get Luke frustrated. Her brother was staring at her from where he sat on his log, an intense annoyance in his eyes as he glared at her. It wasn’t even that Leia was so adamant to not tell Obi-Wan the truth herself, she just loved to make Luke’s blood boil.

“Do you two even listen to me when I reprimand you?” Obi-Wan sounded tired, knowing all his efforts to discipline the twins was failing. “Or do you just hear a faint buzz of words?”

“A faint buzz of words really,” Leia teased, a twinkle in her eye. She received a glare from Obi-Wan in retaliation that did nothing to make her want to curb her sudden sarcasm.

“A lot of things have happened since we last saw you,” Luke’s voice was grave as he tried to gently break the news in to Obi-Wan. The elder man just gave Luke an unamused look with one of his eyebrows raised.

“So I’ve realised.”

“The Emperor found out about Luke and I.”

The words tumbled out of Leia’s mouth before she’d even realised they’d been lined up. Obi-Wan gave her an incredulous look, a flash of fear in his eyes. “What?”

The words continued to fall out Leia’s mouth like water off a cliff, the whole story of the past few months finally being spoken as Obi-Wan slowly sunk back down onto his log, soaking it all in with a middle horrified look. Leia detailed her attack from the Inquisitor, Bail dying, saving Luke— she backtracked to let Obi-Wan know the Emperor had started preying on Luke— going to Tatooine, running off to the Rebellion, meeting Ahsoka and Rex, the space battles, Hoth . . . and finally, finding him on Dagobah.

(‘ _You didn’t tell him about Alderaan,’_ Luke hissed over their bond when Leia finally sat back, wondering how it was possible that they’d experienced so much in so little time.

But Leia just ignored her brother. There would come a time to tell Obi-Wan about what had become of the planet she’d called home for six years. She’d tell him about her nightmares and the screams she could still hear in her sleep— but not right now.

She needed some time first.)

Obi-Wan was silent for a long while and honestly, the twins had expected this reaction. It had been a lot to take in and unpack— neither of them would judge Obi-Wan if he didn’t speak again for a good few hours.

But Obi-Wan did finally speak and when he did, he sounded incredulous. “You flew _full-throttle_ practically _blind_ through the fog on this planet?!”

Luke groaned, face-planting into his hand. _Would he ever be able to live this down?_

Leia, however, threw her hands up in the air. “That’s what I said! The nerf almost killed us!”

“You’re the one who grabbed at the controls and made us veer off!”

“Do we need to go back to the point that you were flying _blind_ , Luke?”

“Alright that’s enough,” Obi-Wan raised his hands in a peace-making gesture, having heard enough. “It sounds like you’ve both had a rough few months. You’ve significantly grown because of it, I can tell. You’ve both become exactly the people I always knew you would be and I’m proud.” Obi-Wan sighed, looking down for a moment before looking back up with sadness in his eyes. “I’m also very sorry.”

“Sorry?” Luke asked at the same time Leia said: “Why are you sorry?”

“I should’ve been there for you both— everything that has happened to you in these past few months is my fault. Because I wasn’t there. I should’ve been there.”

“But you were doing what you thought was right,” Luke shook his head, slightly confused. “If you’d had known what was going on, we know you would’ve been there in seconds.”

“But I didn’t know— and that’s the problem. You were living with a Sith, being preyed on by the Emperor. And Leia, a death warrant was put on your head and you almost died!”

“But I didn’t,” Leia shrugged.

Obi-Wan just frowned, not looking amused. “That isn’t the point. I promised to protect you both and I thought separating you six years ago would solve all our problems. I thought that by being with me I was endangering you and yet the second I let you go, you both became targets to the Sith.” Obi-Wan sighed. “Maybe Master Yoda was right.”

Silence followed his statement, broken only by Luke’s slight heavy exhale and Leia’s sharp intake of breath.

“Are you saying that you agree with that frog on the fact we should’ve been separated at birth?”

The pure disgust in Leia’s voice made Obi-Wan want to take his comment back and wish he’d never even spoken it. But there was a truth ringing in his words that he knew he couldn’t deny. Had he allowed what Yoda and Bail had planned for the twins: for Leia to be adopted by the Organa’s and Luke to be taken in by the Lars’ as babies, none of this would’ve ever happened. Luke wouldn’t have been found by the Sith, Leia never would’ve known that she’d been a Skywalker lest be hunted as one; the boy would’ve forever been under Obi-Wan’s watchful eye and possibly Obi-Wan could’ve trained Luke when he’d gotten older and Bail would’ve cared for Leia, giving her the love of a father that Obi-Wan knew she missed.

He said as such to the twins, hoping they’d understand. Sixteen years ago he’d given them a life that he knew they cherished but he’d also robbed them of a life where they’d have both had stability.

“But if you had never taken us both, we never would’ve known about each other,” Luke’s voice was low, almost scared at the thought.

“You would’ve both been safe— everything that has happened in these past few months never would’ve happened.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Can you both honestly say that you haven’t thought about it? Being separated after ten years couldn’t have been easy— surely you understand that my decision caused you both more emotional pain than if you’d been separated at birth?”

For the briefest of moments, Leia let her mind wander as she tried to picture the life that she very nearly could’ve had. A life where she’d been picked up into Bail Organa’s arms and taken off Polis Massa to be raised as a Princess. A life where she would’ve been separated from Luke before she’d even known what she’d been separated from.

And as guilty as Leia felt to imagine it, she knew she would’ve had a grand life.

It would’ve been a life where Bail and Breha would’ve been the only parents she’d ever known, their love being constant and present everywhere she turned. There would’ve been no ghosts of her birth parents, gone and lost, looming over her and nothing to compare her adoptive parents to.

She would’ve been Leia Organa, in everything but blood. The name wouldn’t have been a ruse, a trick to hide her from the Sith— at least, not to her. Leia knew, had Bail taken her off Polis Massa as had been originally planned, blood wouldn’t have mattered to her.

As Leia daydreamed, she thought of the Palace. She could imagine it being the only home she would’ve known— the grand staircases and large hallways being what came to mind when she thought of home instead of green fields and a small cottage with vines growing up to the roof.

She could imagine running through the halls in the same manner she once had in the green fields. Her chaotic streak would’ve been just as prominent as a Princess as it had been as a lowly citizen of Naboo. The security team in the Palace would’ve had heart attacks trying to keep up with her antics and Leia could imagine Bail’s weary but slightly amused face overtaking Obi-Wan’s when trying to lecture her.

The life of a Princess on Alderaan would’ve fit her well, Leia knew that with certainty. She wouldn’t have had questions about where she’d come from nor would she have looked up at the stars and missed what she’d not known she’d lost. She would’ve been raised impeccably, loved unconditionally and cared for well.

But there was something wrong— something incredibly huge missing.

Sure, she could imagine herself running through the Palace’s halls as an excitable child in the same manner as she’d run through Naboo’s fields, yes, but there wouldn’t have been the echo of feet running beside her. Nor the sound of giggles that should’ve coincided with her own.

Whether Leia had known about Luke’s existence or not, she knew him not being by her side would’ve left a hole that nothing but her twin could fill. And if they’d been separated at birth, who knows how long it would’ve taken for them to finally find each other (because Leia knows in her heart that they would’ve eventually.)

Would it have taken six years?

Ten?

Nineteen?

“I’m glad that you didn’t separate us,” she finally said, blinking away the dream life in her head that now felt starkly alone and quiet. “I would take those six years of missing what had been taken from me than never knowing something had been taken in the first place. At least in this life, whether we were separated or not, we’ve always had each other.”

“And you,” Luke whispered as an after-thought.

“I’ve done more harm than good,” Obi-Wan was undeterred, shaking his head. “You both could’ve died at multiple times during these past few months and that’s a direct result because of my decision to take you both sixteen years ago.”

“You’re missing the point Obi-Wan,” Leia had to refrain from rolling her eyes. “We’re both alive _because_ of you. For ten years you kept us safe and in these past few months, it has been your teachings and drillings of morality that kept us on the right path and to overcome every obstacle we faced.”

Luke nodded. “We’re here, alive and good, because you taught us how to be true to ourselves and how to survive.”

“So enough with the self-depreciative attitude, Obi-Wan, it really doesn’t suit you.”

“Everything you did and have done for us, we appreciate it. We know it wasn’t easy for you but you did it anyway and you gave us a family when everything crashed down and fell apart.”

Perhaps it was the gratitude in the twins’ voices or the way they spoke with pure sincerity but after a moment, the grave look upon Obi-Wan’s face waned and he nodded. There was still some guilt hidden behind his eyes but it left his tone when he spoke.

“I truly am glad that you are both safe and that you found your way back to each other.”

“And to you.”

For the first time in six years, Obi-Wan smiled good and pure.

(The first time Obi-Wan had felt heartbreak, he’d been twenty-five, holding his dying Master in his arms as Qui-Gon had whispered one last wish before becoming one with the Force.

The second time Obi-Wan had felt heartbreak, he’d been thirty-seven, holding Satine in his arms, a hole in her torso from where Maul had stabbed her, as she’d professed her undying love for him before her last breath had escaped her.

The third time Obi-Wan had felt heartbreak, he’d been thirty-eight, standing over the man he’d considered a brother and loved like a son's body, watching as Anakin became engulfed in flames that had as little mercy as Obi-Wan himself. The Sith’s eyes had burned and his words of hate had cut Obi-Wan’s heart into a million pieces.

The fourth time Obi-Wan had felt heartbreak, he’d been forty-eight. The shattering of his heart had begun when he’d realised how in-over-his-head he’d become when it came to raising, protecting and hiding two incredibly powerful children from the Sith. The numbers of Stormtroopers on Naboo had steadily grown and the Empire’s power had risen and risen until Obi-Wan had realised that, as they aged, hiding Luke and Leia would only become harder and harder.

Doubts and fears had crept in and Obi-Wan had acted upon his insecurities, jetting off across the Galaxy to split up the last— and in a sense, the only— sense of family he’d ever had. He’d left half of his heart on Alderaan and the other half had been left in the sandy dunes of Tatooine.

But unlike the first three heartbreaks of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s life, the fourth had not been everlasting. There had been no death, no grief nor mourning that cut him to his core and six years after he left the two pieces of his heart on opposite sides of the Galaxy, they finally returned to him.)

“Yes,” Obi-Wan smiled, feeling whole. “And to me.”


	33. Training and Bad Decisions

When Luke and Leia had been nine, they’d owned an old record player for a short period of time. Obi-Wan had seen it advertised in a shop window whilst out running errands and as a means of congratulating them for their recent good reports, he’d brought it home as a present. For weeks, they’d saved up pocket money in order to get records to fit the device and everyday after school, Obi-Wan would find them sitting on the floor as they did their homework, their heads moving in time with whatever song the record player had softly been playing.

It hadn’t taken very long before the record player became a victim to one of Luke and Leia’s fights— if anything, Obi-Wan had been surprised at how long it _had_ lasted. But after an argument about the possible music choice, Luke demanding something rock whilst Leia remained adamant about putting on a jazz album, the poor record player was knocked over.

From then on, the record player had stuttered and every song was butchered, the same few lyrics playing over and over before it made a horrible screeching noise.

It had been seven years since that record player had been unceremoniously thrown out in the trash and as they listened to Master Yoda repeat the same phrase for the millionth time, sounding just like a broken record, the memory came back.

“Do or do not, there is no try.”

 _‘Do you think he’s trying to be annoying or that it just comes naturally to him?’_ Leia sent the question to her brother through their link. Beside her, Luke’s face twitched like he was fighting a smile.

 _‘It’s probably natural,’_ Luke sent back and Leia had to swallow a snicker.

They’d been on Dagobah for ten days now but their training with Master Yoda had only started eight days ago. They’d refused training at first, reiterating their points about not wanting to be Jedi and disagreeing with Yoda’s philosophical beliefs on attachment and emotions— and from the way they’d heard Obi-Wan and Yoda arguing late one night, it seemed Yoda had his own reservations about their training.

But Obi-Wan had pushed, stating that Master Yoda was the best of the best, wiser than anyone he knew and the perfect candidate for the twins’ teacher. (He’d also told Yoda that despite their age and their upbringing, the Skywalker twins were the only ones who had a hope of defeating the Sith— all they needed was some guidance.)

And so, their training had begun.

And never in their lives had they been so utterly exhausted. Whereas Ahsoka had favoured meditation, pushing for them to master the skill, Yoda’s preferred tactic of training was physical exertion. For hours, Yoda had them running laps or completing an obstacle course that he’d constructed for them.

They also found their time taken up by mental exercises, with Yoda expecting for them to lift up rocks and heavier objects with ease. Whether because of Obi-Wan’s training in their childhood or how the Force had always naturally flown through their bones, those tasks were always easy to complete.

However, as they both stood with one hand outstretched, they felt as if the Force had abandoned them. Yoda’s recent instruction (or demand, as Leia corrected in her mind) had been to lift the star-fighter they’d crashed upon their arrival to Dagobah, out of the swampy water that had claimed it.

(“That’s too big!” Luke had complained at first, having given Yoda a perplexed look. But the Jedi Master had hummed from where he’d sat on a small boulder and he’d shaken his head.

“Matter, size does not.”)

Both Luke and Leia closed their eyes, drawing upon the Force and focusing all their efforts into pulling the star-fighter out of the murky water before them. Perhaps had they not been so exhausted, they could’ve completed the task as easily as one would pick up a stick.

But their bodies ached from Yoda’s mandatory morning runs, their feet felt like they were stepping on needles and every bone in their body felt tight and uncomfortable. Not to mention, their brains felt like mush. And all Luke could think of was the pile of blankets on the floor of Yoda’s hut which had quickly become his bed.

After trying for what felt like the millionth time— and failing— Luke dropped his hand with a growl. “We can’t do it!”

Yoda hummed from his rock, his gimer stick held tightly between his clawed fingers. “Implies incapable, _can’t_ does. Capable, hmm, you are. Again, go.”

“We’ve been trying to lift it for hours but we can’t!”

“Do or do not, there is no try.”

 _‘You walked into that one,’_ Leia rolled her eyes. “Master Yoda, we need a break. Luke and I are too exhausted to train any further.”

Yoda shook his head, his ears twitching slightly. “Train you, I was asked to do. Train you, I shall. Hmm, Jedi, be you will.”

Growing up, first as a Nubian child and then a Princess, Leia had heard the phrase “ _respect your elders”_ more times than she could physically count. It had always been Bail’s preferred way of telling her to behave whenever they attended a social function and after lectures upon lectures, she’d quickly learnt to swallow down any impolite comments she could make to the stuffy guests her adoptive father had entertained.

And even though Yoda was (at least) 900 years her senior, Leia couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his words. “So what, Jedi don’t sleep?”

900 years her senior and clearly having dealt with more poodoo than Leia could ever bring, Yoda’s response to her comment was quick and fast. Before she could even dodge or duck, his gimer stick came flying at her, whacking her side with considerable force.

“Ow!”

Luke snickered, his hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter as Leia groaned, holding her side. It wasn’t her first time being hit with Yoda’s gimer stick and she was sure it wouldn’t be her last. For a goblin that was just younger than a thousand years old, he sure could swing that stick fast.

Yoda pointed at the murky water once more. “Again, hmm.”

Not wanting to be on the receiving end of Master Yoda’s gimer stick, which was soon becoming an effective tool of deterring bad behaviour, both Luke and Leia turned towards the swamp yet again. Nothing had changed, however. They were both still exhausted and grungy, their clothes beginning to smell from sweat— and it didn’t help that Dagobah was particularly humid before the nighttime hit.

Although they’d both known that jetting off to Dagobah wouldn’t be a holiday and there would be no time to rest once they’d arrived, neither Luke or Leia had pictured themselves ever being this tired. Every night they drifted off to sleep the second their heads hit their make-shift pillows, their dreams always centring around a nice, hot bath.

(But then they’d be forced to wake in the early hours of the morning and they’d be reminded that there were no nice, long baths on Dagobah.)

 _‘My legs feel like jelly,’_ Luke’s fatigue was felt by Leia through their bond. His hand shook as it outstretched towards the swamp and it felt like a battle for him to keep his head up. Even the Emperor’s training hadn’t been as exhausting as this; the Dark Side had always emotionally drained him, leaving Luke feeling cold but Yoda seemed to be pushing Luke’s entire body to its limits.

It was just as Leia started to feel lightheaded that she decided enough was enough. The conditions of their training were vastly different to the Jedi younglings of the past and Leia was sure that after sixteen years of living amongst the swamp, Yoda had seemingly forgotten what it was like to take care of oneself.

She dropped her hand, taking a step back as to avoid Master Yoda’s gimer stick. “That’s it, we’re done.”

The relief she felt from Luke only proved to Leia that she’d made the correct decision. They could continue trying to lift the shuttle from the swamp tomorrow but for the rest of the day, they were going to rest.

“Handle every situation, a Jedi must. Every test, they should pass.”

The comeback of _but we aren’t Jedi_ sat on Leia’s tongue before she sighed and shook her head. “The Jedi weren’t perfect, they were deeply flawed and whatever _test_ you present us, we’ll take the highroad because we don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past.”

“Master Yoda,” Luke, ever the polite one, tried to remedy the situation. Where Leia could be crass, Luke was the peacemaker. “We respect your teaching but we aren’t learning from you to reconstruct the Order the Sith destroyed.”

Yoda didn’t seem to like that for he made a noise that sounded between a hum and a hiss, shaking his head. His fingers flexed around his gimer stick but both Luke and Leia were too far out of reach for the stick to make contact with them— not that that would stop Yoda from trying.

“Future of the Jedi, hmm, you are. Knew this I did, when infants, you were.”

Before Leia could reply with a cutting remark, Luke spoke up. “Maybe so, but that future won’t be a recreation of the past.” He paused for a second, letting some of his exhaustion ebb into his voice. “We’re still kids, Master Yoda. We seek your wisdom to learn how to control the Force, right now, not to rebuild an Order."

“Young, hmm, you are.” With his words, Luke and Leia could sense a little bit of enlightenment in Yoda’s tone. He looked at them with his large green eyes, as if he were seeing them for the first time. With nothing but the swamp creatures and an elder Obi-Wan to keep him company in his years of exile, it was easy to forget how young sixteen actually was.

For a second, Master Yoda thought of the countless younglings and Padawans who’d been slain by the Sith and Clones that had marched into the Temple. Teaching younglings had always been Yoda’s passion, passing on his wisdom to the youth.

_Truly wonderful the mind of a child is._

Looking at the Skywalker twins now, no longer the infants he’d seen orphaned on Polis Massa, he finally saw the youthful curves of their face and realised that with their age, they were akin to when younglings would be looking to phasing into Padawans. Children, he realised.

“Rest, hmm, you must. Tomorrow, a day off I shall give you.”

Neither Luke or Leia hesitated to give their thanks before rushing off in the direction of the hut.

* * *

Meditation had always come easily to Obi-Wan. Perhaps it was because he was a more contemplative person or because Qui-Gon’s lessons of the living Force had been drilled into him from the moment he’d been taken as the elder man’s Padawan but either way, Obi-Wan had always enjoyed meditation.

(Anakin had hated it, of course, and getting his unruly apprentice to practice the skill had resulted in an argument every time the subject had been brought forward.)

But as Obi-Wan sat outside the hut he’d been sharing with Master Yoda for the past six years, he realised he’d forgotten just how overwhelming the twins’ Force presences were. It was like a light in the darkness; Luke and Leia lit up all of Dagobah and even made Yoda’s presence in the Force seem dull.

To say it was distracting was an understatement.

Especially when they were projecting their feelings so strongly into the Force.

Obi-Wan sighed, opening up his eyes. Heavy amounts of frustration was leaking across his bond to the twins and from the way their light seemed to be growing steadily stronger, he guessed they were on their back to the hut. All hopes of meditation would be squashed if Luke and Leia were around— between their bickering, distracting abilities and bright presences, Obi-Wan knew it would be futile to even try.

It didn’t take long for Luke and Leia to break free from the swampy forest, walking across the small platform of land that led to the hut and Obi-Wan could tell from both their faces that the training session with Master Yoda had clearly not gone well. No matter how hard he tried, the twins just seemed to clash with the famed Jedi Master. Especially Leia— Luke could appreciate Yoda and he took all his wisdom in with great interest but Leia . . . she was too much like her father to let the Jedi’s strict disregard of attachment go.

“I’m guessing the training session didn’t go too well?” Obi-Wan spoke with his usual dry humour, one eyebrow raised as he followed the twins inside the hut. They didn’t even pause before heading towards the bundle of blankets on the floor which had become their beds in the past ten days since they’d moved in.

The blankets were old, the fabric rough and itchy but it was all they had considering Dagobah was nothing but swamp and forest. It had taken a few days for the twins to get used to their new settlement (Leia had been the loudest complainer and her nose had been permanently crinkled for the first few days) but they slowly getting used to it all.

The glare that Leia shot Obi-Wan was one the elder man had seen a million times before on the face of her father.

(For a second Obi-Wan was transported back to a simpler time, before the war and the Sith, to when sixteen year old Anakin had given Obi-Wan that glare after meditation was once again mentioned.)

“He expects too much!” Leia argued, looking as if she were deliberating a point to the Senate and not her guardian.

“As someone who was once a mentor and teacher, I can tell that you that such a thing does not exist. He expects exactly what he knows you can accomplish.”

“Obi-Wan,” Luke voice was muffled by the blanket he’d pulled up to cover half of his face. The blue eyes that poked out were tired and weary. “Why don’t you just teach us instead? I like Master Yoda but . . . he’s not you. I’d rather you be my teacher.”

Leia nodded furiously in agreement.

This wasn’t the first time the subject had been discussed in the past ten days and every time the question was asked for why Obi-Wan insisted Master Yoda teach the twins instead of him, Obi-Wan never knew how to answer. How do you tell two children to who you care about that you’re scared of failing them in the way you’d failed their father? How do you tell them that you’re scared that if you teach them that they’ll come to resent and hate you as their father had?

“Master Yoda is the—“

“Best there is,” Leia cut Obi-Wan off. Her voice drawled and she sighed, having heard that argument a million times before. “You’ve mentioned that.”

“I want you to achieve your full potential,” Obi-Wan ignored the slight rudeness to Leia’s tone. There was a time to fight her on her attitude and right now was not it. “Master Yoda _is_ the best there is, I have full faith he is the one who should teach you.”

The twins sighed, giving each other long looks that Obi-Wan knew to be a sign that they were silently communicating. But before he could reiterate his annoyance on that peeve, they both quickly uttered a good night and pulled their blankets up in the hope of sleep. And whilst he wanted to argue that it was only mid-afternoon and that dinner would be prepared soon, the darkness of the bags under their eyes and the fatigue that rolled off them in the Force made Obi-Wan pause.

And, Obi-Wan thought as he sunk down, crossing his legs and closing his eyes in a relaxed manner, the only peaceful time he had now to practise mediation seemed to be when the twins were fast asleep.

* * *

_Leia was back there again._

_It wasn’t the first time she’d dreamt of being back on the Death Star and she knew it wouldn’t be her last._

_Everything was just as she’d remembered: cold, calculating and cruel. There was a bitterness in the air, a sense of dread and disgust for she knew what was coming. It made her stomach churn; bile rose up in her throat and Leia wanted to scream but her mouth seemed to be clamped shut._

_“Alderaan needs to become an example.” Tarkin’s voice was forever burned into Leia’s mind. The callousness and absolute disregard for innocent life was something she could never forget._

_NO! Leia wanted to yell. DON’T DO THIS! But her lips wouldn’t move, as if they were glued shut. She wanted to scream but no noise came out._

_Vader’s hand was tight on her shoulder, the metal fingers inside the glove clamping down on her skin until bruises and blood was drawn. She wanted to shove him off, fight back or run away but his hand refused to let her move and no matter how hard Leia tried, she wasn’t strong enough to break free._

_“You may fire when ready.”_

_Tarkin smiled, ruthless and blood-thirsty. There was a light in his eyes that shined at the prospect of a massacre and Leia felt the urge to rush forward and punch that look off his face. She wanted to shove Vader off, race forward and single-handedly stop Tarkin with her own bare hands. She wanted to—_

_The green light that Leia saw in all of her nightmares was overwhelming and blinding for a split second. And then all her fight, all her fire, went out as she watched Alderaan crumble and turn to dust. A million screams sounded in her ear— she heard Breha, she heard Winter, she heard her Governess, the cry of a baby, the fearful shriek of a child, the devastated howl of a mother— and then . . . nothing._

_Nothing at all._

_All Leia could hear was Tarkin’s booming laughter._

_He cackled loud and delighted, the sound getting louder and louder as Leia felt her heart cave inwards, her soul collapse and the devastation settle in. Louder it got when she felt the urge to cry, louder and louder it grew until she couldn’t breathe . . ._

_Her hands went to her neck, the air suddenly stolen from her lungs as she gasped like a fish out of water but there was nothing she could do— the air was gone, it was taken from her and she felt her vision slip as some outside force had her throat constrict . . ._

_“For a Princess you lack manners and respect.”_

_Vader’s voice overtook Tarkin’s booming cackle, his deep tones making her bones rattle. His hand was outstretched towards her and Leia realised that the invisible force squeezing her throat together was coming from him— STOP, she tried to send him through the Force— STOP! Images, memories, feelings floated across the Force towards the Sith but unlike last time, Vader’s grip on her throat did not stop._

_He squeezed tighter . . . tighter . . . tighter . . . the black spots were growing bigger, the grip on life was slipping from her fingers and Leia felt her mind slowly start to slip away . . ._

“LEIA!”

Air filled Leia’s lungs and she bolted upwards, the blankets she’d pulled over herself falling away as she gulped in air, her eyes wide and the panic that had been brewing in her chest slowly fading away. Her lungs burned as she coughed and gasped, drinking in the air like a dehydrated being would gulp water.

It took a second for Leia to recognise her surroundings. Her head was still pounding and everything span for a second before the realisation that she was on Dagobah, in the hut that she was now calling home, settled in.

“Leia,” Obi-Wan’s voice was full of fear. He was kneeling beside her, looking like one would if they’d seen a ghost. “Breathe Leia, breathe.”

It wasn’t hard to do as Obi-Wan requested and once the spinning sensation stopped and her lungs no longer ached, Leia leant her head into Obi-Wan’s shoulder and let a tiny sob escape her lips. Every nightmare she’d had since the Death Star had been bad but none of them had been as excruciating as that.

Obi-Wan’s arms were around her shaking form in an instant, holding her close just as he’d done when she’d been a child. “What was that?”

“I—,” her voice was scratchy and she spluttered for a second. “I don’t know.”

“I could sense your distress through the Force,” Obi-Wan continued to hold her, pressing a light kiss to the crown of her head. “I tried to wake you but you didn’t respond . . . And then— you stopped breathing Leia. For two minutes you stopped breathing.”

Another sob escaped Leia’s lips and she didn’t know what to say in retaliation. For ten days she’d been on Dagobah, reunited with Obi-Wan at last. And whilst both Luke and herself had been open about nearly all that had occurred in the six years since they’d last seen their guardian, the one thing Leia had yet to speak about was her time on the Death Star— well, she’d yet to tell Obi-Wan about the Death Star in its entirety.

“I— I don’t know what happened,” Leia squeezed her eyes tight, pressing her face into Obi-Wan’s chest even more. For all her life, Leia had been independent. Even as a young child, she would refuse to seek out attention or help if she were scared— unlike Luke who would awake from every nightmare and immediately run to Obi-Wan’s side. Even if it meant she would spend the rest of the night sleepless or crying into her pillow, she had never been able to bring herself to seek out the comfort she’d known she’d needed.

But Obi-Wan had always sought her out. No matter the time of night, he’d been there. And in his arms, Leia had always felt her fear slip away.

“Tell me about your nightmare Leia.”

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.”

“I _can’t_ ,” there was a desperateness to her voice, only awakened due to her distress. Her brain still felt foggy from the lack of air and no matter how hard Leia tried— and she did try— she couldn’t stop herself from shaking.

“Leia—“

Leia pulled out of the hug, giving Obi-Wan a look she hoped would convey her seriousness. (All Obi-Wan saw, however, was cold fear). “ _I can’t_.”

“And why can’t you?”

The look Obi-Wan was giving her was akin to whenever he caught one of them doing something they shouldn’t have done. But with all the terrible things that Obi-Wan was imagining inside his mind, Leia couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth. She desperately wanted to— she wanted to share her pain with an adult who could actually help her but every time she went to say the words, they got stuck in her throat.

Would Obi-Wan blame her? Would he believe that she could’ve done more? She knew how to use the Force, would he see Alderaan’s destruction as her fault because she didn’t use her abilities to save the innocents? Jedi were protectors, all his life Obi-Wan had been someone fighting for justice and saving lives— would he be angry that she’d failed to save trillions?

“I—,” Leia shook her head, feeling far too lightheaded. Was it her or was the hut getting stuffier and stuffier? “I just can’t!” Obi-Wan opened his mouth to argue once again but Leia pushed herself up, standing on wobbling legs as she made her way to the hut’s entrance. “I need fresh air.”

Obi-Wan called after her but Leia ignored him as she sped out of the hut into Dagobah’s dark night.

* * *

Stepping outside seemed to be the smartest plan Leia had had in a while. The minute she’d left the hut, the cold air had filled her lungs and cleared all the fogginess in her mind. There was something about the crisp air that had Leia’s lungs thank her for her quick decision.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been outside for, the panic she’d felt back in the hut fading away as embarrassment settled in, when the sound of footsteps slowly approached. Leia was expecting Obi-Wan to appear, his face scrunched up with concern as he reprimanded her for running off but instead of the elder Jedi, Luke’s voice filled her mind.

 _‘Obi-Wan sent me to find you,’_ Luke took a seat beside his sister on the log she’d plopped herself down on. They were a few metres into the swampy forest, Master Yoda’s hut nothing but a tiny dot only visible in certain angles if not blocked out by trees and mist.

 _‘I suspected as much,’_ Leia sent back, sounding just as weary as she felt. _‘Did he tell you to bring me straight back?’_

 _‘Yes_ ,’ Luke didn’t even bother to lie. _‘But we don’t have to go back straight away if you don’t want to.’_

They sat in silence for a little while, listening to the faint sounds of fauna deeper in the forest and the way the swampy water bubbled and popped. Leia found herself staring at a tree, watching as the wind whistled and made the decaying leaves rustle. When one of the leaves broke free, falling slowly to the murky swamp water below, Leia found an urge to speak.

“I had another nightmare.” She didn’t need to tell Luke what it was about— there was only one thing she had nightmares about these days.

“Bad?”

Leia nodded, not wanting to go into it any further. “It really freaked Obi-Wan out. I want to tell him about what happened to Alderaan but— I just can’t.”

“You’ll have to tell him eventually.”

“I know,” Leia sighed, looking down at her feet. “I just— what if it was my fault, Luke?”

At her words, Luke’s head whipped to stare at his sister and his eyebrows creased as if she’d just uttered the stupidest statement. “How can you say that?”

The self-doubt poured out of Leia’s mouth like a waterfall as she tried her best to not stutter or break down. “I didn’t use the Force when I could’ve! I have an ability that not many people do— I could’ve stopped Tarkin! I could’ve saved Alderaan!”

“Leia,” Luke shook his head, blowing some air out of his lips. “Don’t take this the wrong way but you couldn’t have done anything— you’re powerful with the Force, sure, but not _that_ powerful! And don’t forget there was a fully trained Sith Lord standing beside you who would’ve stopped you from doing anything before you even tried.”

Leia knew her brother had a point. No matter how deep she fell into the hole of self-blame, a sensible and rational side of her still remained. The guilt for what happened to Alderaan was large, yes, but Leia didn’t know what she could’ve done to stop what had happened.

 _(You could’ve used the Force_ , the angry voice in her head argued.

 _But to have done what, exactly?_ Leia argued back.)

After a few minutes of silence, Luke spoke up once again. “Come on,” he nudged her arm with his elbow. “Let’s go back. Obi-Wan’s probably losing his mind with worry.”

But at the thought of going back, Leia shook her head. “Not yet.”

Luke was about to argue that they can’t stay out in the forest forever; there would come a time when they got too cold or Obi-Wan would come out searching for them (and Force help them when that happened). He was going to argue that delaying going back wasn’t going to stop the inevitability of Leia’s talk with Obi-Wan about Alderaan and her nightmare and all the time spend outside would only push Obi-Wan to worry even more. But then Luke reached across his bond with his sister and he was hit will all the emotions that Leia was bottling in.

Fear.

Embarrassment.

Grief.

Pain.

They’d have to go back at some point but Luke realised that a five more minutes wouldn’t hurt.

With a sympathetic smile, Luke turned his face towards his sister. “How about a race on the obstacle course?”

* * *

As much as Luke and Leia liked to complain about their training, neither of them could deny that the obstacle courses were their favourite part. Created for the sole intention of making them use the Force in different scenarios (projecting their jumps, attuned balance, cushioning their falls etc), it forced them to concentrate and focus on their abilities in the here and now.

And although Master Yoda had not intended for it to become a poignant moment of sibling rivalry, both Luke and Leia’s competitive sides jumped out whenever they toed the ‘start line’ that had drawn in the dirt.

“You’re going down,” Leia teased as she prepared herself for the physically demanding course that lay ahead. They’d been exhausted earlier but whether it was due to their short-lived nap or the anxiety of her nightmare, Leia found herself with a sudden amount of energy. And the familiar desire to beat her brother.

(If Master Yoda had been there, he would’ve said: “Competition, this is not. Focus on oneself, not the other.” And just like the million of other times that he’d said such a statement whilst the twins stood at the obstacle courses start line, he would’ve been ignored.)

“Don’t get too cocky Leia,” Luke sent his sister a smirk, feeling the Force flow around him as he prepared to put all his efforts into winning this race.

They both faced forwards, knowing that in the darkness the Force would be like their eyes.

 _‘One’,_ they counted together. _‘Two. Three!’_

Without hesitation, both Luke and Leia raced forwards, using the Force as their eyes to sense and jump over all the vines that were laid out haphazardly on the ground. After ten days of gruelling training, they’d practically memorised every twist and turn that the course had laid out, both running neck and neck as they pushed themselves to be faster.

 _‘I’m going to beat you,’_ Luke sent across their bond as he pushed his body to its limits, managing to gain a little extra speed on his sister. Swamp water splashed up his leg but Luke paid no heed to the darkness nor the cold as he raced through the forest with only one goal in mind: to end in first place.

The first obstacle was a log that had been placed over a large crack in the ground. The muddy wastes was jagged, the hole deep and dark with unknown horror lying underneath should they fall. The log itself was more or less stable, the wood decaying but the trunk having re-grown in the swampy soil despite its horizontal position.

Luke reached the log first. Knowing they couldn’t attempt to overtake unless they wanted their sibling to fall into the crack below, they were forced to go across one after the other.

Gathering the Force, Luke used it to secrete his balance. The Force flowed around him, a small whispering in his mind telling him what decaying parts of the log to miss and his feet didn’t falter as he took step after step.

 _‘Stupid nerf,’_ Leia shot back when she finally made it across the log, only a second behind her brother.

The second obstacle was quicksand. With the land before them a deathtrap should they step on it (and repeat that mistake neither of them wanted to), the only way to pass was by moving through the trees. Having caught up with her brother, Leia used the Force to propel her jump upwards, her legs feeling like strings as she shot through the air and landed on a branch with Luke on her trail.

It felt like gliding through the air each time they jumped, the Force carrying them as they moved from tree to tree to avoid the sinking ground below them. With the last tree coming up, Leia cut ahead of her brother to grab the vine positioned ahead and swung down to the safety of the quick-sand-less land below. She used the Force to help slow her fall so when she landed, it was as graceful as Master Yoda had taught it to be.

 _‘Hey! Don’t cheat!’_ Luke grumbled across their bond, glaring daggers at his sister’s back as he landed on the ground a moment after her.

_‘I’m beating you fair and square!’_

_‘You cut me off!’_

They were once again running beside each other, equally pushing themselves to go faster so they could reach the third obstacle first. With the third obstacle being a set of geysers that went off at intermittent intervals, both Luke and Leia knew whoever arrived first would get the head start. Able to only cross one at a time and having to use the Force to time their jumps and sense for any danger, neither wanted to be second whilst their twin crossed.

However, they never reached the third obstacle for in a show of bad sportsmanship, Luke kicked his leg out and sent Leia sprawling on the murky ground. In return, Leia reached out with the Force and sent a wave of energy to hit Luke in the chest, making him lose his balance and tumble over the side of the swampy bank beside them.

In hindsight, Leia could admit that her reaction might have been a little extreme.

The fall on the other side of the embankment was only about twenty feet yet Leia couldn’t help but feel guilty when she looked over the edge to see Luke laying in vines and murky water, face up, as he let out a groan. It took longer than she expected to carefully make her way down the steep bank-side, mindful not to trip and end up in the same position as her brother. By the time Leia reached the ground below, Luke was just standing up and brushing mud off his clothes.

“That was a little harsh, don’t you think?”

“ _You_ tripped me!”

Dirt was still covering the front of her torso and Luke had to admit he’d deserved the push Leia had given him in reply. But that didn’t change the facts that they were both stuck at the bottom of a very steep hill that would only leave them back in the vines should they attempt to climb up.

“I guess we Force jump back to the top?” Leia sighed as she craned her neck to look up. All of the competitive desire to win the obstacle course had left her body.

But Luke only half-heard his sister’s words, his ears picking up a noise that came from behind them. “Do you hear that?” It was faint and he had to concentrate to hear it but when Luke strained his ears, he thought he heard the sound of a woman crying.

“Hear what?”

“That noise.”

“What noise? Luke— wait!” Leia had to half-jump out of the vines in order to follow after her brother as he took off into the forest surrounding them. He walked quickly, his movements sharp as he followed a noise that Leia could not hear for the life of her.

However, the deeper they walked into the swamp forest, the colder Leia seemed to get. And an echo of cackling laughter itched at her brain, making her feel scared. It sounded so lifeless and evil, as if the cause of their amusement came from suffering and pain. And whilst Luke didn’t hear the laughter that his sister did, the sound of the woman crying got louder and louder as he followed an invisible trail to the source.

They both drew up short when they saw the cave out in the distance, the Dark Side swarming around it like a mist and the thick vines managing to look far more threatening than they remembered. A white fog pooled on the floor by the entrance, making the pitch-black inside all the more terrifying.

When Luke made a step forward to go towards the cave, Leia grabbed his arm. “Don’t you remember what happened last time? I don’t want to repeat that!”

“I hear something different this time,” Luke felt drawn to the cave, his eyes glued to the darkness within.

“I saw horrible things last time Luke— we should go back. We should talk to Master Yoda.”

“He’ll just tell us to stay away from the cave.”

“Well, maybe he has a point!”

“I want to know what’s inside . . .” Luke shrugged off Leia’s hold, feeling like a lasso had been wrapped around his waist as it pulled him closer and closer to the cave entrance. And despite her growing unease, Leia followed after him, feeling like ice was poured down her back as the laughter got louder.

They both knew the moment they stepped inside the cave that it had been a bad idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be a doozy


	34. How The Emperor Found Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter took so long to be posted, it took me ages to write but it's here now and it's really long so I hope you enjoy! :)

Just like he remembered it happening last time, the second Luke stepped into the cave, his sister seemed to vanish. Once again they’d walked in at the same time and yet when Luke looked around in the darkness, Leia was nowhere to be seen. Their link was muffled and all Luke could sense in the cave (apart form the magnitude of darkness that made the hairs on his arms stand up) was himself.

And yet he couldn’t resist from hissing his twin’s name in the hope that a reply might come back. “Leia? Leia?!” The expected silence met his call and Luke suddenly felt very alone, despite having never believed a reply would come in the first place.

In here, in this cave, it was as if Leia no longer existed. She’d vanished off the face of the planet, the darkness having engulfed her and Luke felt her absence right to his core.

But before Luke could dwell too much on it or even turn back towards the cave’s exit, the noise that had pulled him inside sounded again. The woman’s cry was louder now that he was in the cave and as Luke shuffled forwards, stepping further into the darkness, he could tell how heartbroken and desperate the woman’s cry was.

She sounded scared, lost . . . and there was a familiarity to the cry that made Luke’s curiosity burn.

Unlike last time when Luke had walked deeper into the cave and ended up in the Emperor’s Throne Room, this time the further he walked in, the more the cave ebbed away to reveal a fiery, intimidating planet. Luke found himself standing on the landing pad outside a dark fortress, lava and smoke surrounding him with the sky a dark colour and a red tint being in the air. The smoke’s fumes filled his lungs and there was a heat in the air that made his skin sizzle.

The woman’s cry sounded from behind him and when Luke turned around, he found a couple standing a little further back on the platform. The man’s back was to Luke but there was something about his tall build and broad shoulders that made Luke feel as if he knew whoever it was. The woman however . . . she was standing too far away for Luke to see her features so distinctly but the second he saw her, an innate recognition filled him.

_Mom._

He’d only ever seen holos of his mother but as Luke moved forward, getting close enough to see every line and feature on his mother’s face, he realised that when people said Leia looked like a mini-Padme, they really weren’t lying. There were differences between his sister’s appearance and his mother’s, namely Leia’s stronger jaw and the shape of her nose . . . but the eyes, the face shape, the arch of their eyebrows, it was all identical.

One thing that Luke realised as well, something that made his stomach churn, was that both his mother and sister made the same face when they were upset.

Padme’s features were distorted, her eyebrows were pulled down and her lips wobbled as she gently shook her head. Tears welled up in her eyes and Luke felt his heart break to see his mother look so upset. Why was she so upset?

“ _I can’t believe what I’m hearing_ ,” Luke watched as his mother backed away. “ _Obi-Wan was right! You’ve changed._ ”

At the man’s voice, Luke felt his heart skip a beat. This was his father, he realised. His father pre-Vader suit. It felt odd that he’d lived with his father for five and a half years but this was the first time he’d ever seen the man’s face.

There was anger in his father’s features and a snarl on his lips that made Luke freeze but underneath the darkness and the hatred brewing below the surface, Luke saw himself plainly in the man’s features. The blue of his eyes, the shape of his face, the angle of his chin . . . It wasn’t hard to see why Obi-Wan had always called Luke a mini-Anakin.

“ _I don’t want to hear anymore about Obi-Wan_ ,” Anakin spat, looking suddenly furious. “ _The Jedi turned against me, don’t_ you _turn against me!_ ”

“Dad,” Luke wanted to say, feeling hurt as the hostility in the air grew. “Stop this!” But his words went unheard and his father didn’t even spare him a glance as he continued to glare down Luke’s mother.

Leia had never been an overly-emotional child— in fact, Luke had always been the far more emotional twin out of the two. Too many times Leia would put on a brave face and refuse to let herself crumble but on the odd occasions that it became too much and she let her cool facade drop, Luke had watched her face twist up in the same manner that his mother’s was doing now.

“ _I don’t know you anymore! Anakin, you’re breaking my heart. You’re going down a path I can’t follow.”_ Padme’s voice broke and as she took a few more steps backward, Luke was slapped with the realisation that his mother was pregnant— heavily pregnant too.

So this had to be Mustafar— the last time his parents saw each other before his father was permanently put in the suit and his mother gave birth and died. For years Luke had tried to pry what had happened in his parent’s last encounter of his father (he’d always known it had been bad) but to no avail. Vader would always say that his final moments with his wife had been the worst of his life but would never give any detail to why.

Even Obi-Wan had remained very mum on the subject whenever asked.

Luke’s thoughts drifted off as he stared around the planet he now knew to be Mustafar. It was a rather horrible place; there was no sun and the sky was black, making the planet look ominous and terrifying. Smoke hung in the air and Luke felt his chest constrict if he drew in a breath too large. Lava surrounded them and Luke wondered how long his father had been left to burn on one of the Mustafar banks, the fire licking at his body whilst Obi-Wan had just cried and walked away . . .

“ _Stop, stop now! Come back! I love you!_ ”

His mother’s cries drifted into Luke’s mind and then he jumped, feeling as if he’d been burned when his father suddenly let out a roar of: “ _LIAR!”_ In all the time that Luke had been living with the Sith, never had he heard so much anger and hate in his father’s voice. By no means had Luke been an easy child, he’d always talked back and gotten in trouble but even in his darkest moments, when Luke had felt his father’s temper increase, the man had never spoken to him in such a way.

And from the way Padme’s eyes widened and terror flittered across her face, Luke could tell she’d never been spoken to in such a way either.

“ _You’re with him! You brought him here to kill me!_ ”

(Luke watched as Obi-Wan walked onto the landing pad, his slight frown doing nothing to convey the disgust and horror Luke knew the elder man must be feeling.)

“ _No!”_ Padme was backing up, shaking her head as tears threatened to fall down her cheeks. And Luke knew what was going to happen a moment before it did.

He’d been thirteen the first time he’d seen someone die. At first Luke hadn’t really known what had been happening . . . one minute he’d been completing his homework in the conference room when a Lieutenant had walked in and given his father a holopad . . . the next minute the Lieutenant had been grabbing at his throat, his cheeks turning a dark purple colour as he’d gagged and choked out apologies to deaf ears.

It hadn’t been until the man had collapsed on the floor and Luke had felt broken free from the horror-stricken trance he’d been in that he’d realised his father’s hand had been raised.

His father’s hand was raised now, the gloved fingers reaching out and pinching slightly as Luke’s mother gasped and grabbed at her throat in a vain attempt to break the invisible grip. Her lips were parted and there was nothing but sadness and betrayal in her expression as she faintly whispered her husband’s name.

_“Anakin . . .”_

“ _Let her go! Luke, let her go!”_

At Obi-Wan’s furious call, Luke stepped back. _Him?_ “It’s not me!” Luke yelled but Obi-Wan’s disappointed gaze gave no evidence as to whether he’d heard Luke’s words or not. He opened his mouth again to argue that he wasn’t the one doing it— why would he ever want to hurt anyone? But before Luke could yell back about his innocence, he realised that his hand _was_ raised.

With nothing but disgust and horror, Luke realised that his hand was stretched out, raised towards a choking girl and his fingers were pinched together, stealing the air from the gagging girl’s throat.

_“Luke . . .”_

The girl’s broken whisper had Luke veering back, his eyes widening as the disgust in his stomach doubled and churned. Where his mother had once been standing now stood Leia. His sister was grabbing her throat, her lips were turning a blue colour and her eyes were bulging, full of fear. She kept mouthing his name, desperate to get him to stop but his hand wouldn’t move.

No matter how hard Luke tried— and he really, really did— he couldn’t lower the hand that was outstretched to Leia. His fingers were frozen in their pinching position and it was like an invisible force was holding him still, refusing to grant him the one thing he kept begging to the Force.

 _Take away my powers,_ Luke begged as he fought against the invisible grip with no success. _Take it away so I stop hurting her!_

But the Force didn’t listen.

_“You’re more like me than you would like to admit.”_

It was Anakin who spoke, stepping forwards so he was in Luke’s line of sight. The blue eyes that Luke had noted before were gone, replaced by a sickly yellow and Anakin’s entire face seemed haunted. The red flecks in his eyes made him look monstrous and there was a darkness to his appearance that sent shivers down Luke’s spine.

“No,” Luke shook his head as tears threatened to build up. “No, I—I’m not. Not in this aspect.”

Anakin’s face was cold, looking at Luke as if he were an enemy rather than his child.

_“You’re more like me than you would like to admit— and you know it.”_

There was something about the cruel tone to his father’s voice that had Luke stand up a little straighter, refusing to let the man’s taunting affect him. “No! I turned my back on the Dark Side— I left it behind! I refused it!”

_“You can never truly turn your back on the Dark Side, my son. It will claim you as its own soon enough.”_

“I won’t repeat your mistakes.”

Anakin didn’t reply for a second— Luke could’ve sworn he’d seen a slightly proud look flash across the Sith’s eyes but it was gone before he could be sure of what he’d seen— and then he narrowed his eyes, tilting his head in the direction of where Leia spluttered.

“ _Don’t speak too soon, son.”_

Whatever invisible grip that had been holding Luke’s arm up, finally let go. His fingers unclenched and his hand fell down, suddenly feeling very heavy. A loud thud came from the direction where Leia had been gasping, her form splayed out on the landing pad in an unmoving mess. Horror filled Luke’s bones as he ran over on shaking legs but when he knelt down by the unconscious body, he realised that it was once again his mother.

Padme’s cheeks were pale and she lay lifeless on the ground, having barely managed to avoid hitting her pregnant belly when she’d tumbled down. Tears welled up in Luke’s eyes but even as his vision blurred, he could see the faint rise and fall of his mother’s chest as she took in the air that had been stolen from her.

“How could you do that to her!” Luke roared, twisting his body to face his father. The man’s hand was lowering down and the yellow of his eyes burned. “You loved her— I know you loved her! How could you . . .”

He’d always known something bad had occurred on Mustafar. It had been glaringly obvious from the way Obi-Wan had always refused to go into detail on how the twins’ parents had parted, considering how open he’d always been about all the other aspects surrounding Anakin’s fall. And Vader’s guilt . . . Luke had asked once about the last time his father had seen his mother and he’d been overwhelmed by a sensation of deep-rooted, burning guilt.

Vader had refused to answer and now knowing the truth, Luke realised it was worse than he ever could’ve imagined.

Anakin— or was it Vader, Luke wondered; the man had his Jedi father’s face but the yellow of his eyes was all Sith— didn’t seem phased by Luke’s emotional display nor that his wife was currently unconscious from his hand. Instead, he just nodded his head to where Padme’s body lay by Luke’s side, a dark look upon his face.

“ _I think you mean: how could_ **you** _, son.”_

Luke’s breath hitched in his throat and he fell backwards. The whole planet felt as if it were spinning and Luke had to fight hard to quench the way his stomach twisted and turned. “No,” he shook his head, his eyes once again being bombarded by tears. “No, I couldn’t— I wouldn’t. Never!”

It was Leia who lay before him now, her hair askew and her face completely still. Her cheeks were tinged blue and there were scratch marks on her neck that made her pale skin look all the more horrific. Whereas Luke had seen the rise and fall of his mother’s chest, Leia’s was motionless.

 _“You’re more like me than you would like to admit,”_ Vader repeated himself as he stalked closer. Luke felt as if he were trapped in a nightmare but with Vader’s tall form hovering over him and Leia’s body at his feet, he wasn’t sure who the true monster was.

He wanted to scream and to say that what his father was saying wasn’t true but Leia still wasn’t breathing and as much as Luke had felt out of control of his body, he knew the reason she was motionless was because of him.

“ _There is a darkness in you, son. I know that you know it. Embrace it and join me— no one and no thing will ever stand in our way.”_

Luke found himself on his feet, stepping backwards as his father advanced. With every step he took, the scene around them changed. The lava hell-hole that was Mustafar faded away, replaced instead by some sort of reactor chamber. The circular wall was lined with flashing lights and separate ports directed to other areas. As Luke looked down, he realised he was standing on a narrow catwalk with nothing but the plunging reactor shaft below. The depths looked dark and menacing, promising death should he fall.

_“There is no escape. Don’t make me destroy you.”_

His father’s voice was suddenly just as Luke had always known it to be: harsh, mechanical and deep. Luke’s eyes darted to where the Sith stood on the opposite end of the catwalk, his tall form covered head to toe in leather, metal and his bulky mask. The lights on his chest plate flashed and his red lightsaber was ignited by his side.

_“Luke, you do not yet realise your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the Galaxy!”_

Now pressed against the antenna that was placed at the end of the catwalk, Luke found his lips moving before he even knew what the words coming out were going to be. “I’ll never join you!”

 _“If you only knew the power of the Dark Side!”_ Vader’s hand was outstretched once again, inviting Luke to step forward and take his offer.

“Is this really what you want?” Luke shook his head. “For me to become so surrounded by darkness and evil that I hurt the people I care about? You—You hurt Mom; you nearly killed her! And by extension, you almost killed Leia and I too— you almost wiped out your whole family in a moment of anger and yet you still want me to follow down the same path as you!”

_“The Dark Side is your birthright.”_

“No. My birthright was to be born into a loving family with parents who cared for me and wanted the best for me and . . . you stole that from me. Mom’s not here, you’re not _really_ here . . . all I have is Leia and if I go down the path you want for me, I won’t have her anymore.”

(He thought of Leia on the Mustafar landing pad, motionless and pale, before banishing the image from his mind.)

Vader seemed to get angrier, his voice growing deeper as he growled. “ _I am your father! Don’t you dare turn against me! You will do as I say!”_

“You’ll never be the father that I want nor need as long as you serve the Emperor. For so long I thought you would choose me over him if it ever came down to it but . . . now I’m not so sure.”

_“Luke, you can destroy the Emperor! He has foreseen this.”_

At Vader’s words, Luke froze. His fingers were starting to ache as he held on to the metal as tight as he could, fearing the dark depths below him.

_“Why else do you think he sent that Inquisitor after your sister? He senses your powers and he knows how much of a threat you both are to him. It is your destiny. Join me and together we can rule the Galaxy as a family. It is the only way!”_

The outstretched hand looked so tempting. Luke wondered what would happen if he took it— the image of him kneeling at the Emperor’s feet flashed into his mind and Luke didn’t even try to hide the look of disgust as he turned his face towards his father’s mask.

Suddenly the hand didn’t look so tempting anymore.

“You joining the Dark Side sixteen years ago is what _tore_ this family apart. I can’t make the same mistakes that you did— I don’t want to.”

Luke didn’t wait for what his father said next. His fingers let go of the metal railing and the feeling of being weightless overtook Luke as he fell down, down, down . . . .

* * *

“Stupid nerf,” Leia mumbled under her breath as she looked around in the darkness. The whole _twin-disappearing_ act the cave had going on was getting old . . . just like last time, they’d walked in together and _poof,_ Luke had suddenly vanished as if he’d never been there in the first place.

To say it was annoying was an understatement.

Leia didn’t even bother to cry out Luke’s name for she knew, with complete certainty, that there would be no reply. Luke’s side of the bond was muffled and calling out for him wasn’t going to magically bring him back. Whatever voodoo the cave was immersed in, it wanted the twins to go their separate paths.

So go her separate path she did.

_“Ha ha ha ha ha.”_

The laughter that Leia had heard outside the cave was far louder the second she’d stepped inside. It echoed off the walls, beckoning for her to enter deeper and deeper until she’d finally reached the belly of the beast. And despite the alarms going off in her head and the hairs on her arms standing up in anticipation, Leia felt as if she were a moth drawn to the flame, unable to do anything but satisfy her curiosity as she stepped forward.

Every step plunged her heart into icy water and her stomach churned as the harrowing laugh continued to echo. It was malicious in tone and cold in delivery. There was no happiness to the maniacal laughter, no warmth or soothing . . . just bitterness and a sense of powerful superiority. She wanted to hate whoever was on the end of that laugh but the fear was far more overwhelming.

Leia wasn’t sure for how long she’d been walking deeper into the cave but at the some point the dark crevices and ragged walls of the cave ebbed away into a gloomy grey as a room formed around her. There was something familiar about the spacious room that did nothing to ease Leia’s heart. The room itself was large, with statues of the Emperor dotted around and banners of the Imperial flag hanging in every direction.

It was oppressive and intense . . . and Leia felt it tug on her memories, making her feel as if she’d seen or been in this room before. Maybe in a dream . . .

_“Ha ha ha ha ha.”_

The laughter rung loudly through the room and had Leia turning to the source. Immediately her heart fell to her stomach and it was as if her breath was momentarily snatched.

For there, in the centre of the room with his hood drawn up and his wrinkly, white hands producing from his dark robes, pointing towards a blonde boy, was the Emperor. His face was hidden but Leia was sure that should she be able to see under the hood, his eyes would be a sickly yellow, his skin would be disfigured and his lips would be pulled up into a malicious smirk that would only spread fear into her heart.

 _“Good young Skywalker, good . . .”_ The Emperor’s words had Leia’s eyes darting to the boy she’d initially brushed over. Blonde hair, blue eyes, boyish features and a small frame . . . Leia recognised her brother immediately. Except Luke didn’t look like the brother Leia had walked inside the cave with; his hair was shaggy and unkept, dark circles that resembled bruises were lined under his eyes and there was a haunted, fatigued look to him.

He looked more like the Luke that Leia had seen on Coruscant several months ago than the healthy, bright-eyed boy currently living on Dagobah.

At that thought, like a jigsaw falling into place, it clicked in Leia’s mind why this room and the scene around her filled her with a sense of deja vu.

She’d seen this exact room in her dream on Alderaan, back when things had started to fall apart and the Inquisitor had made her unwelcome appearance. The gloomy walls and intense Imperial decorations all stood out in Leia’s mind now and she realised that she was currently standing, as an invisible observer, in the Emperor’s Throne Room . . . being forced to watch as her brother was forced down the path of the Dark Side.

“ _You are doing well. Soon you will be ready to become my next apprentice.”_

The Emperor’s voice was a sickening croon, laced with false pride and deceptive fondness. As Leia moved closer, she felt her stomach turn to see a sadistic smirk underneath the black hood that covered his face. It was clear to see that there was a hunger to the Emperor’s demeanour, an eagerness to devour all of Luke’s light.

Luke, however, looked so lost and tired.

There was a pain in his eyes that almost broke Leia’s heart and despite knowing her presence here was completely ignored, the desire to reach out and support her twin was overwhelming. She knew he wouldn’t be able to feel it but that didn’t stop Leia from reaching out her hand and placing it on Luke’s shoulder, trying her best to be as supportive as possible in her ghost-like situation.

But the second Leia’s hand touched Luke’s shoulder, it was like a window to her brother’s mind opened up.

Suddenly Leia could feel everything that her twin was feeling . . . and see all he was thinking.

Anger coursed through Luke like waves, crashing at the walls of his mind and drowning out every thought of goodness that tried to float to the surface. The darkness was like a cloud, fogging up his brain until everything happy and good was covered by the mist that was fear, oppression and anguish. Leia could feel Luke’s loneliness at having no one to go— he felt isolated from his friends, alienated from people in general and he missed his father . . . She could feel his fear at the idea of succumbing to the Dark Side and losing himself to the sea of darkness that now bombarded his mind . . . And the hatred— Leia could feel the magnitude of hatred that Luke felt towards the Emperor, the sole evil oppressor of darkness that seemed to be swallowing Luke whole.

_“Before you go, young Skywalker. One last task.”_

(Luke felt dread, his heart seized and nausea rolled around in his stomach as a cocktail of anxiety and fear pooled in his mind. Leia could feel how badly her brother wanted to run from the room and leave the darkness that bombarded him behind in the Emperor’s Throne Room.)

The Emperor’s voice was bitter, hissing the words that he seemed to know would have an impact.

“ _Think of someone you love— someone you love the most— and imagine a lightsaber going straight through their heart.”_

Images played before Leia’s eyes and she ripped her hand away from Luke’s shoulder, feeling as if she’d been burnt.

( _Heartbreak_ Leia had felt, _grief_ . . .)

The Emperor’s face didn’t so much as twitch, his hands didn’t wobble and he gave no sign of having witnessed what Luke had projected. But the temperature in the room lowered to an icy chill and when Leia tentatively reached out with the Force to feel the Emperor’s presence, the anger that boiled below the surface was like a beast waiting to be unleashed.

He’d seen.

Leia knew instantly that the Emperor had been spying on Luke’s thoughts and he’d seen what Leia herself had just witnessed.

 _(Think of someone you love—_ Luke had imagined his father . . . Vader had stood tall and proud, every bit as intimidating but hidden by a veil of love that Luke had projected forwards.

 _—someone you love the most_ — the image of Vader had changed, instead replaced by a teenage girl with brown hair and brown eyes . . . Leia had been conjured up in Luke’s mind.

 _— and imagine a lightsaber going straight through their heart_ — heartbreak like no other had flooded Luke’s senses as the imagination of a red lightsaber being stabbed through Leia’s heart had filled his mind . . . the grief had been overwhelming and enough to shatter his soul to pieces as the idea of losing his sister had been projected in his mind.)

Leia watched as the anger flitted across Luke’s face. His hands clenched and there was a maliciousness behind his eyes that made her feel afraid for just a second. The feeling of loss that she knew her brother was currently experiencing at the thought of her death was one that Leia herself could understand— after all, if someone had killed Luke in the manner that he’d just imagined for her to die, then wouldn’t she feel a burning rage and desire for revenge?

The Emperor let out a cold, maniacal laugh that sent shivers down Leia’s spine.

_“Yes, yes, use that anger!”_

Tentatively, Leia reached out her hand again and made contact with Luke’s shoulder. The window to his mind opened once more, except this time all Leia could feel was the Emperor. The Sith was looming over Luke’s mind, stirring up his anger and blocking out all the light that tried to fight back. The image of Leia being impaled was imprinted upon Luke’s mind and the Emperor hovered over it like a shadow, his own anger doubling Luke’s.

The seed of the Dark Side had been planted and slowly was starting to take root.

And then . . . “ _That is enough for today, young Skywalker,”_ the Emperor’s presence withdrew and like a fog being lifted, Luke stumbled back, blinking furiously as if he were coming out of a trance. He shivered violently, wrapping his arms around his torso and his eyes darted to the exit with pure longing.

Bowing awkwardly, Luke wasted no time in running away — the scene reminded Leia of a prey being given the chance to live another day, rushing back to safety whilst it still could.

And with Luke’s departure, the Emperor froze. For a second, Leia actually mistook him for a statue; it was as if his limbs had become ice, his entire form stood painfully still and he gave no hint to life underneath his thick, black robes. She wondered if perhaps the Emperor had truly died— or was that wishful thinking?

The noise that finally broke free from the Emperor’s unmoving form could only be described as inhumane. Leia couldn’t help but recoil, watching as his old, withered hands rose upwards and shot lightning from his fingertips. Every statue in the room was hit, the explosions filling the entire room as dust and chunks of gold rained down. The banners were slashed in half from the electricity, their sorry remains littering the floor.

The Dark Side was rife in the room. It was a dark cloud, stormy and bleak that covered the entire room, fuelling the Emperor’s anger and filling Leia with nothing but cold fear. It grew darker and darker each time the Emperor shot lightning from his fingers and soon the room was covered in debris and dust, a fitting place for the Dark Side to make its home.

Leia watched as the Emperor snarled, heading towards his Throne where he pressed a button to open up a comm channel. His voice was flooded with unhidden rage. His anger was like a tsunami ready to devastate everything in his path and Leia knew not to underestimate his capability for destruction. The Emperor may look decrepit and wrinkled but with the sheer vastness of the Dark Side on his side, he was deadly in ways Leia could never understand.

With his next words, everything went black.

“ _Send in the Seventh Sister. I have a mission she must complete.”_

* * *

How they both got out of the cave was a mystery neither Luke nor Leia could answer. Unlike last time, where they could remember running to the only source of light for their freedom, this time they had no memory of breaking free from the depths of the cave. All they knew was that one second they’d been immersed in darkness . . . and then they’d blinked.

And now they were both splayed out on the ground outside of the cave, their heads dizzy with what they’d just seen and experienced.

The ground underneath Luke was hard, the mud mixed into his hair and staring up at the darkness of Dagobah’s sky peaking through the jumbled mix of vines and trees, he was struck with the realisation that he was no longer _falling_. The decision to let go of the metal antenna and to fall into the pit of darkness that the cave had offered had felt so serene once the choice had been made in his mind. Fear hadn’t been with him when his fingers had uncurled.

In fact, looking back on it, Luke had felt peace when his body had tipped backwards and gravity had pulled him away from the formidable form of his father.

It was as if he’d left every lingering sense of darkness behind in that cave.

Letting out a tiny groan, Luke pushed himself to his feet. He tried to ignore the way his head span as he closed his eyes, reaching across his bond to Leia to check that she wasn’t hurt in any way. _‘Are you okay?’_

The only response he got across their bond was a rush of anger. Leia was furious— so much so that Luke could practically taste her infuriation. He was just about to open his eyes, willing the headache blooming by his temples to disappear, when a pair of hands were suddenly pushing him back.

In his shock, Luke opened his eyes to see his sister post-push, with nothing but fury in her eyes.

Leia had never inherited their father’s sun-kissed skin as Luke had but never before had he seen her so pale. Her cheeks were devoid of colour and there was something sickly in how ashen she suddenly looked.

“How could you?!” Leia roared, raging forwards to push her brother once more. She’d always been the more aggressive twin out of the two but even Luke was shocked at how unrestrained her anger seemed to be as she lashed out. “How could you?!”

“Stop it! Ow, stop it!”

Finally having had enough of Leia’s repeated pushful blows, Luke retaliated with a push of his own. His face was drawn down with confusion and anger but when he reached across their bond, he was overwhelmed with worry at how angry his sister seemed to be with him.

“What have I done Leia?”

Leia’s whole demeanour was animalistic, her teeth were bared and when she spoke, it was more of a roar. However, underneath it all, Luke could see a tinge of devastation behind her attitude. “You know what you did!”

“No, I really don’t! If this is about going into the cave then I’m sorry— I should’ve listened to you. It was a bad idea.”

Leia threw her hands up in the air. “This isn’t about going inside that kriffing cave!”

“Then what _is_ this about? Why are you so angry?”

Luke went through every possible thing that he could’ve done for Leia to suddenly be so angry at him for. There were a million things he could think of but none of them (he believed) could’ve generated a reaction like the one Leia was now exuding. Perhaps she’d seen something inside the cave? The memory of what he’d witnessed sent shivers down his spine but even then, Luke couldn’t imagine what she’d seen that could make her mad at _him_.

Leia let out a frustrated noise, taking a second to try and compose herself before answering. “You’ve been lying to me! For months! Did you think I would never find out? Or did you think— by some miracle— I would let it go? That I wouldn’t care you _lied_ to me for months?”

In all his life Luke had never been so confused.

“What are you talking about?”

Leia wanted to point an accusing finger at her brother but her whole hand shook too hard from her pure anger about the situation. She wasn’t sure what hurt worse: the fact Luke had been the one to betray her and let the secret slip about them being twins or the fact he’d lied, having never once admitted to being the reason for why everything had fallen apart.

The more Leia thought about it, the angrier she got. Everything that had happened in the last few months (the secret being exposed, the attack at the Palace, Bail’s death, the hundreds of near misses on their lives) was all down to Luke’s blunder. Because he’d let it slip about the truth behind their relationship.

For a second Leia paused— could the destruction of Alderaan be drawn to Luke’s lies as well? Alderaan had been destroyed because it had been her on the Death Star and Tarkin had wanted to make a bold statement to the Empire. And the only reason she’d been on the Death Star was because she’d pushed Luke out of the way of the stun blast during the Hoth attack. And they’d only been on Hoth with the Rebels because Luke had let it slip to the Emperor that they were twins and they’d had to go on the run because of it.

Luke shook his head, interpreting Leia’s silence as pettiness. “What lies have I supposedly told?”

It was like a kettle boiling over; the steam just blew out. “You betrayed me! You betrayed Obi-Wan! You betrayed everything we’d been trying to keep secret since the moment we were born! You threw me under the speeder and then you didn’t even have the _guts_ to tell me that all of this is your fault!”

“Leia— I have no idea what you’re talking about. Betrayed you? I would never!”

Leia’s voice was deadly. “And yet I saw it.”

“Saw it?” Luke frowned, still with no clue as to what his sister was talking about. “Saw _what_?”

“ _You’re_ the one who told the Emperor about me!”

Leia’s scream was deafening and the silence that followed was uncomfortable and cold. Luke couldn’t do anything but stare for a few seconds. When he did finally respond, his voice cracked. “W-what?”

“You told the Emperor about me.”

“No, I didn’t!”

“Why are you lying? I saw it! I walked into that cave and I _saw_ it!”

“How do you know what you saw was the truth?” Luke threw his hands up, feeling as if he was being unfairly treated here. He racked his brain for what Leia could be talking about, only to fall short on an answer.

Leia crossed her arms over her chest, giving her brother a dark look. “I just know it, Luke.”

Rolling his eyes, Luke blew out air. “Well I know it is not true. What I saw in that cave couldn’t have been true so I have no doubt what you saw wasn’t either.”

“What did you see?”

Luke felt a shiver run down his spine. As much as he wanted to push the visions he’d seen take place on Mustafar from his mind, they were burned into his memory forever. He didn’t think he could ever forget the image of his mother choking, her lips parted and her eyes bulging with fear written across every feature on her face. The scream of _LIAR_ continued to boom inside Luke’s brain and yet he knew it couldn’t have been true— his father never would’ve done that.

For five and a half years Luke had been living with the Sith and whilst there had been times he’d been terrified of the elder man, never had Luke believed his father capable of actually hurting someone he loved.

The cave had shown him something horrible, yes, but not something true.

Luke tried to not make it seem that he’d been as rattled as he actually had. “I saw Mom and Dad— they were . . . fighting . . . on a lava planet. But it couldn’t have been true—“

“You saw Vader choke our mother?”

Leia’s words poured ice down Luke’s spine. The world stopped spinning and for a second, Luke almost lost his balance. No— it couldn’t have been true. It just couldn’t! _Anakin,_ his mother had whispered, tears in her eyes and her pregnant belly completely on show and ignored.

_(Let her go! Luke, let her go!_

The image of Leia being strangled by his invisible grip was seared into Luke’s mind and he had to shake his head to banish the thought away.)

“What?”

Leia repeated her previous statement with nothing but cold accuracy.

“That’s not true,” Luke shook his head. “He couldn’t have— he wouldn’t have . . .”

“But he did.”

The nausea that crept up threatened to upheave Luke’s stomach as he stumbled backwards, shaking his head. _The Jedi turned against me, don’t you turn against me . . . I don’t know you anymore! Anakin, you’re breaking my heart . . . LIAR! You brought him here to kill me . . ._ the scene replayed in Luke’s mind on a continuous loop and every time it ended the same: his mother lifted up in the air, her hands on her throat whilst her husband viciously cut off her air supply.

When he’d been a boy, all Luke had wanted to be when he grew up was his father. He’d wanted to be the brave Jedi Knight that Obi-Wan had described in his stories. He’d wanted to be fearless, a good man, a leader . . . Even when Luke had moved in with the Sith, he’d still idolised the man behind the mask. He’d seen the good in Vader that everyone had ignored, he’d heard the softness to his voice despite the modifier and felt every flash of affection passed through their bond.

_You’ll never be the father that I want nor need . . ._

Only now did Luke start to realise that perhaps he’d been blinded by those childish idealistic hopes for too long.

His father had hurt his mother. His _father_ had _hurt_ his _mother_ . . . And Leia had known about it. Luke’s voice shook as he turned his glare onto his sister. “How long have you known about this?”

“A few months.”

“A _few months_?!” Luke repeated at a higher octave. “And you didn’t tell me? Why?!”

“What would be the point?” Leia spat back, acting as if it were no big deal. “You’d find some way to make excuses for Vader— you always do! If you’d have known, you would’ve found some way to humanise his demonic acts!”

“Not for this,” Luke shook his head. “Not this. You’re talking about me lying to you when _really_ it has been the other way around!”

Leia pointed a finger at her brother, baring her teeth. “Don’t you dare turn this on me! You lied! Everything that has happened in the past few months is all because of you! Bail’s blood is on _your_ hands!”

“What the kriff are you on about? I didn’t tell the Emperor about you Leia!”

The anger Leia felt was barely controlled. “So these words mean nothing to you?”

“What words?”

“Think about someone you love— someone you love the most— and imagine a lightsaber going straight through their heart.”

The sensation of falling once again gripped Luke; except whereas last time he’d been the one to let go, this time Luke was overcome with the sense of having been pushed. His heart wrenched and there was no serenity in his fall, just panic and fear. The words Leia had spoken hit him like a speeder and suddenly Luke could remember being in that room.

He’d always been so terrified when he’d walked into the Emperor’s Throne Room. The entire school day would’ve been filled with him anxiously looking at the clock, dreading the ticking minutes until his classes ended and he found himself in the room where his soul began to slowly die. Every time he’d taken that step inside the gloomy, grey walls of the Throne Room, Luke had felt as if he’d been selling his soul to the devil— which, in a way, he had been.

The Emperor’s manipulation had been rife. From seeds of doubt being planted that perhaps his friends truly hated him to being encouraged to criticise and hate on his father, the Emperor had constantly been looking for different ways to challenge and bring out the anger inside of Luke. He’d been playing with his fears and there had no bigger success than what he’d said on their last meeting (before Leia had come and saved him).

 _Think about someone you love,_ the Emperor had said. _Someone you love the most_ — And Luke had tried, he’d tried so hard to push the image of Leia out of his mind but it had been like glue. The Dark Side had preyed on his fear, his anguish for the possibility of his sister dying having made his anger double. _And imagine a lightsaber going straight through their heart_ , the Emperor’s final words had been enough to unleash the beast Luke had been trying so hard to contain. Leia’s death had been the key to Luke’s darkness.

When Luke had run from the Emperor’s Throne Room to his bedroom after that last training session, he’d never felt so cold in his life. Even Hoth, when he’d been freezing out in the storm, losing consciousness and unable to move, hadn’t been as cold as when he’d touched the Dark Side so deeply.

It hit Luke now that he really _had_ been the one who’d revealed the secret about Leia to the Emperor. Like a speeder crashing into his wall of ignorance, he realised that Palpatine must’ve been spying on his thoughts— obviously— and he must’ve seen _everything_.

Devastation filled Luke’s bones and the guilt was overwhelming.

“Leia, I swear I—“

“How could you?” Leia hissed, sounding every inch as distraught as Luke could sense her feeling.

“I didn’t mean to! I—I didn’t even know I’d done it—“

“You practically threw me as bait to the Emperor! You handed me to him on a silver platter, Luke!”

“I didn’t—“

“It all makes sense now!” Leia laughed hysterically, her voice full of coldness. “You let it slip that we were twins and the Emperor realised two things: one, if I died then in your grief, your soul would’ve been lost to the darkness and two; my very existence was a threat to him so snuffing me out meant he would have a very long and continued rule. So he sent the Inquisitor after me thinking that with my death, he would gain a new apprentice and cut out all threat.”

Luke’s throat felt dry as he spoke. “But— but you lived! You fought the Inquisitor and you won!"

Leia hated how her voice wobbled. “But Bail didn’t.”

“Leia, I swear I didn’t mean to—“

“Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you tell me? For months I’ve been left confused as to how the Emperor found out and for months you’ve lied to me about it!”

“I didn’t know!”

“How could you _not_ know!”

At the sound of rustling, both twins paused in their argument. The brief fear they felt at the thought of a predator jumping out from the jungled forest disappeared when they were met with the quizzical face of Obi-Wan, an unsettling frown pulling his brow down. He looked between the twins with a disapproving gaze, his hands on his hips.

“I could hear you two arguing from the other side of the planet.” His words were met with silence. “Where in all Corellian Hells have you two been? I’ve been looking for you for hours now!”

“Hours?” Leia frowned, taking a second to let go of her anger when her confusion dominated. “We’ve been gone for half an hour at max.”

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, looking displeased. “I can assure you, you have not been gone for _‘half an hour at max_ ’, Leia. When neither you or Luke returned after I sent your brother to find you, I went out looking for you myself. That was, at least, three hours ago.”

Three hours . . . Leia found herself staring at the cave, wondering how they could’ve spent so long inside there.

Obi-Wan followed Leia’s gaze. His frown deepened and when he spoke, there was a promise of punishment. “Do not tell me you went inside _there_.” He pointed to the cave accusingly. When neither twin replied and Luke’s cheeks went red with guilt, Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest and glared at them both.

“What are you even doing on this side of the planet? Can you not sense the darkness here?” Still, the twins didn’t reply. “That cave is not a place for children!”

“We aren’t children!” Leia snapped.

“You aren’t exactly adults, either.”

Luke’s voice was quiet, cutting into the tension brewing between his sister and Obi-Wan. “Have you been inside there?” He jerked his head towards the cave.

A broken look lingered across Obi-Wan’s face for a second before he blinked, staring back at Luke with the disappointment he’d been wearing before. “Yes, once. And what I experienced was not for the faint of hearted.”

Luke wrung his hands together. “I saw horrible things.”

“I’m sure you did,” Obi-Wan nodded sombrely. “I’ve already told you that Dagobah is a nexus of the Force— and with that comes darkness. This cave is meant to feed off your fears. It is designed to bring out your anger: to make you fall.”

The first time Luke had entered the cave, his anger had gotten the best of him and he’d struck down the form of the Emperor only to discover it had been his sister underneath the black robes. However, this time, Luke had stared his father in the face and let all his anger go.

As he stared at the cave now, it just seemed empty to him now.

Turning back to his sister, he hoped his face conveyed the true guilt he felt. “I’m so sorry. I tried so hard to push all memories of you and our childhood out of my mind every time I was forced to train. But it was like a mist covering my mind, all sense of happiness was extinguished and I was left with burning anger and brutal fear. For weeks he’d been trying every possible angle to manipulate me, to draw out my darkness. And then he found it . . . with you.”

Obi-Wan cocked up any eyebrow. “Is there something I should know here?”

His words were ignored. Leia, instead, shook her head, looking utterly betrayed. “Why didn’t you say anything to me? For months you lied, Luke.”

“I—I didn’t lie! I didn’t know!”

Leia growled. “How could you not!”

Luke grabbed some of his hair, feeling suddenly very exposed. “He was in my head! He—he was in there constantly, pushing darkness upon me, whispering lies in my ear— I didn’t realise until the moment I left Coruscant just how big the influence the Emperor had over me. When he went into hyperspace, it was like the mist was cleared. I could think clearly and finally _breathe_! I didn’t realise until I was so far out of the Emperor’s reach just how deeply I’d been manipulated in those three weeks— I didn’t realise he’d been spying on my thoughts so intensely.”

“Do you not realise what you’ve done?” Leia’s voice was strained. As hard as she tried, betrayal was bright in her eyes. “Do you not realise how bad you messed up?”

“But it was an accident, I didn’t know—“

“Bail, Luke! Bail died!” With each word, Leia became more and more hysterical. “Thousands of Palace guards were slaughtered! I almost died! And Alderaan! Its gone because of you!”

Luke took a step back, his voice barely above a whisper. “You can’t blame me for that.”

“Every Rebel Base we’ve been on has been attacked by Imperial forces and we’re to blame: our Force presences present Vader with a target! All of the Rebels who died in those attacks can be traced back to your mistake!"

Luke shook his head, blinking hard to try and hold back the tears that threatened to fall. Guilt was rising up like a dragon in his chest and with every word Leia said, the fire from the dragon’s mouth spread. “That’s unfair.”

“No. Do you know what is unfair, Luke? You slipped up— you betrayed me and with your mistake, _so many people_ have died.”

Luke’s vision blurred. Leia’s words reverberated around in his mind and the more he thought about it, he started to see the logic behind the statement. Palpatine had found out about Leia through him— whether intentional or not (it had been not)— and with that, it had kickstarted a chain of events that led to them being here. The past few months had been the toughest of Luke’s life, minus the emotional suffering of being separated from his twin at ten, and it was all because he’d slipped up.

Luke thought of all the pilots who’d died in battle— were their deaths his fault as well?

If he’d not have pictured Leia when the Emperor had manipulated him into imagining the person he’d loved the most to die, how many things would have been different? Would she still be on Alderaan? He on Coruscant? Would he have been a Sith by now, having spent the last few months steeped in darkness with nowhere to run? Would his sister be a leader in the Rebellion like she was now? Would Alderaan still have burned? Would Leia have been witness? Or would she have been on the planet when it had become nothing but a Galactic loss?

“That’s enough,” Obi-Wan raised his hands, trying his best to put an end to the argument that only confused him more and more. _What was this about Alderaan?_ “What is going on here?”

Leia’s voice was cold. “Ask Luke.”

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. “Luke?”

It felt like he was under a spotlight and as Luke blinked away the tears in his eyes, he tentatively reached out across his bond with Leia again. There was nothing but ice. The feeling was cold and Luke hated how lonely he suddenly felt without Leia’s bubbly presence in his mind, acting as a pinnacle of happiness for him to fall back on.

Having always been close, they’d argued a lot as children. They’d had mild fiascos involving broken toys and mean names being spoken but never before had Luke felt so disconnected from his sister. It almost felt as if she’d cut him off or frozen him out— something he’d never experienced before.

Even in their separation, when her side of the bond had been too dull to even touch, the very thought that Leia was out there, that she was still on his side and missing him as much as he did her, had been enough to fight off the darkness.

“I—” his voice broke when he stuttered. It felt odd to make a confession minutes after finding out you’d even made the mistake to which you were confessing to. “I’m the reason the Emperor found out about Leia.”

Of all the things Obi-Wan had expected the argument to be about, that had not been it. “What?”

“I’m the reason— when he was training me, I slipped up; I pictured Leia in my mind and he discovered the truth. I didn’t realise until now.”

Obi-Wan bowed his head, mulling it over. He was silent for a second before he raised his hand to his beard, gently stroking it as he turned to the twins. “I understand why you would feel so betrayed Leia but have you not heard what your brother said? It was a mistake; he would never willingly put you in harm.”

“You don’t understand,” Leia shook her head, still feeling the burning pit of anger in her stomach. It felt like it was bubbling, rising up until her entire being was scorched by the frustration she felt.

“Then tell me.”

Leia wondered if she should even mention it; she considered letting the point go but before she knew it, her mouth opened and the words poured out. “He’s the reason that Alderaan is gone!”

Silence followed her statement.

The anger in her chest continued to burn, Luke let out a slight whimper and Obi-Wan’s frown deepened. Eventually, the elder man spoke. “Gone? What do you mean?”

“Just . . . gone.”

“Am I missing something here?” Obi-Wan looked perplexed. The expression he was pulling was that of a parent when their teenage charge started speaking in slang they were too old to understand.

Luke’s voice broke as he spoke. “It wasn’t my fault Leia. You can’t blame me for that.”

“Everything that has happened in these past few months happened because of you: because the Emperor found out,” Leia gritted her teeth together, closing her eyes for a second to try and reign in her utter fury. There was a nagging of guilt in her chest that whispered Alderaan’s destruction couldn’t be blamed solely on Luke but the anger and betrayal rose up and the whisper faded away.

“Hold on one second!” Obi-Wan’s voice raised, making the twins pause. “What in all Corellian Hells do you mean that Alderaan is _gone_ — and how can Luke be to blame?”

“I’m not to blame!” Luke yelled at the same time Leia took a deep breath, steadying herself for the explanation she would have to give.

“Over a month ago, I was captured by an Imperial spy and brought to a battle station the Empire had created. It was massive— bigger than a moon, in fact. It was a metallic ball of death and destruction, built solely with the purpose to kill trillions.”

Obi-Wan’s frown grew more troubling. He wanted to argue that such a thing couldn’t exist— surely it couldn’t!— but he could feel Leia’s pain through the Force. He could feel her despair and the anguish at having to rehash such horrible memories. As much as Obi-Wan didn’t want to admit it, the Force whispered to him that such a deplorable battle station did exist.

“I don’t know if it was because of my presence on the station or because Alderaan was finally starting a world-wide rebel— or maybe it was truly a mix of both— but Tarkin . . . he decided to use Alderaan as his first target. Obi-Wan,” there were tears in Leia’s eyes as she met the gaze of the man who’d been the closest to her father for the first decade of her life. “They blew it up. In a second, Alderaan exploded. Trillions died. It’s gone.”

Obi-Wan blinked. Of all the things he’d expected to have been the source of Leia’s pain, Alderaan being destroyed had not been at the top of his list.

What could he say back to that? The devastation was so large, Obi-Wan could understand why it had been so hard for Leia to voice it. A whole planet . . . gone. Just like that. Obi-Wan could almost picture it: a massive explosion, the planet splitting apart, a shockwave spanning out, chunks of debris being flown in all directions into the cold of space.

He’d spent enough years at war to know that there would always be people out in the Galaxy who cared little for innocent lives. There would always be someone who was willing to take aim at citizens. Who wouldn’t care that children got caught in the cross-fire. But to blow up a planet, where babies were born and children played and lovers married and the elderly rested, it was nothing Obi-Wan could ever have imagined.

And for Leia to have bore witness to such a despicable display made Obi-Wan’s heart ache for the little girl he’d promised to protect for the rest of his life.

With just one word, Obi-Wan managed to convey all his sorrow and empathy. “Leia.” Before he knew it, his arms were full as Leia rested her head under his chin, letting the tears flow as the tightness in her chest eased. It was like a weight being lifted to tell Obi-Wan the truth about what had happened to Alderaan. The demons in her head were slowly being driven away as he whispered comforting words in her ear, his apologies and sadness reminding her that the destruction of Alderaan hadn’t just affected her only.

(Luke watched the display of his sister crying and Obi-Wan’s bowed head as he tried to console her for a pain she should never have felt. Was Alderaan’s destruction his fault? The lead-up to Leia being on the Death Star had been brought about after he’d accidentally exposed the truth about his sister to the Emperor so did that make it all his fault? Guilt wiggled into his chest and after one last look at his distraught sister, Luke turned on his heel, wanting to get as much distance from the blasted cave that had driven a knife between Leia and himself.)

Leia wasn’t sure how long she’d been pressed into Obi-Wan’s chest for but when she did finally break free, she knew it had been a while. Her eyes were sore from crying but there was a sense of freedom in her chest at having revealed the secret she’d been holding onto for too long.

Obi-Wan tucked a hair behind her ear, just like he’d used to do when she’d been little. “I want you to know that I’ve never not been proud of you. Every experience we have— whether good or bad— shapes us into who we are and the person standing before me right now is a brave young woman who I know will never stop fighting until justice has been served.”

“I wanted to kill Tarkin.”

Leia wasn’t sure why she said it— maybe to prove to Obi-Wan that there were parts of her he shouldn’t be proud of or maybe because it was simply the truth.

“And did you?” Obi-Wan’s voice was soft and without accusation.

“No. I would have though had Luke not stopped me.”

“Leia, despite what Yoda says and what the Order once argued, feeling anger is not something to be ashamed of. In fact, feeling anger is simply human. It is how you act upon that anger and how you harbour it that makes a person dangerous. And whilst Luke was the voice of reason that stopped you from doing something bad, it was still _your_ decision to stop.”

Leia paused for a second before noticing her brother had disappeared. “It was wrong of me to blame him for Alderaan. I’m still angry at what he did but . . . that was wrong.”

Obi-Wan’s face pulled down into a frown again. “What exactly did he do? I apologise but it seems I’ve been kept out of the loop for a great many things.”

_(Think of someone you love— someone you love the most— and imagine a lightsaber going straight through their heart.)_

It didn’t take long to rehash what she’d seen in the cave and by the time she’d finished, adding in her own thoughts about Luke’s betrayal, Obi-Wan was stroking his beard, deep in thought.

“That is most troubling,” Obi-Wan sighed. “But you say he didn’t realise what he’d done?”

“Or the extent to what he’d done, yes.”

“I think you underestimate the Dark Side, Leia. You do not think rationally when under its influence. Your every sense is drowned in darkness and it is your anger, your fear which controls you.”

(Obi-Wan thought back to sixteen years ago, watching the security-holo of Anakin slaughtering the younglings.)

“But Luke—“

“Was being trained by a Sith.”

“But—“

“He messed up, yes. But imagine a veil being drawn over your eyes, he had no control against the Emperor’s manipulation. The Emperor found a way to draw out Luke’s biggest fear, the death of the person he loved the most, and with that, the Dark Side found some strength in him. The Emperor is like a blood-sucking bug, Leia, he preyed on your brother, hovering in his mind, trying to create a Vader clone.” Obi-Wan paused for a second, stroking his beard. “And I do dare say he would’ve succeeded had you not appeared and broken your brother free.”

(Leia thought about the Luke she’d seen on Coruscant: downbeat, scared to his core, exhausted and riddled with anger that hadn’t belonged to him. She’d stared into her brother’s blue eyes and she’d not recognised the boy staring back.)

“In the cave he looked so scared,” Leia whispered, the anger disappearing as quickly as it had come. “When the Emperor had said those words—“ ( _someone you love the most)_ — “he looked so terrified.”

Obi-Wan nodded, finding relief in the fact that Luke was here on Dagobah. He was safe; free from the Emperor’s claws which had brought his father down, too. As Obi-Wan relaxed, knowing Luke would never be preyed upon by the Sith again, he felt his chest tighten to think about how he’d failed Anakin all those years ago.

 _He looked so scared,_ Leia had said— had that been how Anakin had looked too? Obi-Wan hadn’t been able to see his face on the security-holo when his apprentice had bent his knee to a Sith. Had Anakin been wearing that same look of fear before he’d let darkness control him forever?

Such thoughts only drove Obi-Wan to promise that he would never let such a thing happen to the twins. He’d failed one Skywalker and almost failed another but Luke and Leia were here, they were safe and they were full of light and that was how Obi-Wan was going to keep it.

“We should head back to the hut,” Obi-Wan spoke finally, noticing how dark it had gotten now. “I can only hope your brother had enough sense to go back, I do not want to be hunting through this forest for my wayward charges anymore.”

As they headed back, Leia thought of Luke and how deeply his betrayal had hit her. Out of all the ways she’d imagined the Emperor to have found out (hidden documents, a spy, a vision), Luke having been the one to expose the secret had never crossed her mind. Her heart and her faith had been shattered momentarily.

But as Obi-Wan had said, Luke had had no control over the Emperor’s manipulation. The Sith had isolated, alienated and forced her brother to live in fear— she’d felt that in the cave. She’d looked into Luke’s soul and felt his loneliness, his fear at facing the Dark Side, his disgust at allowing such evil into his heart and his anxiety at everything he could become when he was drowned by the darkness.

_Think of someone you love— someone you love the most— and imagine a lightsaber going straight through their heart._

Leia could still remember the brutal fear that had pierced Luke’s heart at the image of her being killed. The red lightsaber had gone through her chest and pain like no other had blossomed in Luke’s mind. Agony, terror, anguish, heartbreak, overwhelming grief . . .

It was exactly how Leia would have felt had the tables been turned.

But as much as Leia knew she’d been unfair, the betrayal still stuck with her.

“I don’t want to talk to him,” Leia hated how desperate her voice sounded as they broke free of the forest. The hut was directly ahead of them, the light on to show people were at home and the smell of broth weaving through the air towards them. Luke’s presence was like a light inside, bright and bold to prove he was there. “I can’t— if I talk to him, I’ll just say more things that I can’t take back.”

Obi-Wan placed a hand on Leia’s shoulder, guiding her forwards across the path to where the hut lay. “There will be a time for apologies but for now, we all must rest.”

Thankfully, as Leia entered the hut, she noticed that Luke was laying down on his make-shift bed, his back to where she was. He wasn’t asleep, she could sense that he was wide-awake despite his attempt at deception, but she silently thanked him for not presenting her with another opportunity to let her anger out in an unfair way.

Obi-Wan guided her to her own make-shift bed and unlike Luke, who was clearly unable to sleep because of the day’s events, the second Leia’s head hit the ground, she was out like a light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate writing arguments :/ I find it so hard and I struggled with this one hence why it took so long to be posted :/
> 
> Also I couldn't help but put in some Luke and Vader ESB lines during the cave scenes 
> 
> I also wanted to clear up why Luke keeps seeing himself hurt Leia whenever he enters the Dark Side cave (the first time he cut down who he thought was the Emperor but it turned out to be Leia and this time he strangled her in the same manner Anakin did to Padme). Luke's biggest fear is that if he'd turned to the Dark Side when the Emperor had trained him, he would've become a monster who wouldn't have even cared if he'd killed or hurt the people that he loved. Him seeing himself hurt Leia isn't because he WOULD but because he knows if he fell then he COULD. The cave is showing him his biggest fear.
> 
> And Leia saw the truth about how the Emperor found out because it sparked an anger in her that would help fuel the darkness inside of her.


	35. A Goodbye

Artoo let out a low, sad whistle.

His scanners were focused upon Luke, watching as the boy sat on the ground outside the hut, his legs crossed and eyes closed in the same position Artoo had seen Anakin sit in before. Meditation. Artoo beeped sadly again as small droplets of water fell from the sky, flattening Luke’s hair to his face and yet Luke did not flinch. Something was bothering him and yet Artoo had not been confided in as to what.

“I am sure Master Luke is quite alright, Artoo,” if Threepio had eyes, he would’ve rolled them. They were both hidden under the make-shift shelter Luke had made for them when they’d first arrived on Dagobah. With no outlets for charging and the entrance of Master Yoda’s hut being too small, the droids had spent the majority of their time on the swamp planet outside and charged down in order to save their batteries.

They powered up every now and then but they spent most of their time underneath the shelter Luke had created to help keep them dry and out of any preying creature’s gazes.

Artoo let out another low, sad whistle. This was their first time powering up after several days and it seemed much had changed in that time. Something was wrong, that much Artoo knew. Luke and Leia seemed angry at each other— or at least, Leia seemed angry at Luke. Luke just seemed sad.

“Oh you are nosey, Artoo,” Threepio huffed. He’d powered up around the same time as Artoo had but he didn’t seem as invested in whatever had occurred between the twins as Artoo did. As a human-cyborg relations expert, Threepio had stated that such interactions (or lack thereof) were natural between adolescent siblings.

But Artoo was still worried. He let out another sad beep.

His scanners picked up Leia as she broke free from the swampy jungle, slightly out of breath from her evening run. She paused for a second at seeing Luke and then Artoo let out a low sound when she turned around and walked back into the wilderness. There wasn’t much space on Dagobah for Leia to truly avoid her brother but Artoo had to admit, she did a pretty good job.

Luke’s shoulders slumped and despite the spitting of the rain, Artoo ignored all of Threepio’s advice to leave the twins be and he rolled forwards to the boy’s side.

“Hey buddy,” Luke patted Artoo’s dome as the astromech stopped beside him. Artoo whistled once more, low and sadly. “I know,” Luke sighed. “I don’t like the silent treatment either.”

Artoo didn’t really understand what was going on. For as long as he’d known them, Luke and Leia had always had each other’s backs— just like how Anakin and Obi-Wan had always had each other’s backs. But then Anakin had become secretive and he’d stopped talking to Obi-Wan and he’d even started to leave Artoo out of the loop— _“stay with the ship Artoo”_ — and then Anakin hadn’t been Anakin anymore.

Artoo let out a series of beeps and whistles, varying in different tones of fear.

Luke just patted Artoo’s dome once again, looking out at the swampy wastes surrounding him. “It’ll be okay, Artoo. I promise.”

Artoo just beeped, lowly and sadly. He’d see to it that all worked out okay.

* * *

It had been two days since the cave incident, when Leia had discovered the truth about how the Emperor had found out about her existence, and in those two days, despite Obi-Wan’s constant meddling and words, no apologies had been given.

The guilt for what she’d said to Luke still weighed in Leia’s chest (the more she thought about it, the more she realised how cruel it had been to blame trillions of peoples deaths on him), but no matter how much she wanted to apologise, she found she couldn’t. Luke’s betrayal, whether intentional or not, had been a harsh slap to Leia’s face and every-time she found herself opening her mouth to apologise to her brother, the memory of how she’d felt coming out of the cave would return and the words would die.

 _I think you underestimate the Dark Side, Leia_ , Obi-Wan’s words flashed in her mind as she went on another walk around the surrounding area of Master Yoda’s hut. With Luke sitting outside, Leia was unable to bring herself to go back despite how much her feet ached.

_Your every sense is drowned in darkness and it is your anger, your fear which controls you . . ._

_Think of someone you love— someone you love the most— and imagine a lightsaber going straight through their heart . . ._

_For weeks he’d been trying every possible angle to manipulate me, to draw out my darkness. And then he found it. . . with you. . ._

Leia shook her head, feeling suddenly cold. For sixteen years her existence had been kept from the Sith: only four people in the Galaxy had been there for her birth and one had died immediately after, another had gone into exile and the remaining two had promised to take the secret to their graves. For ten years the twins had lived on Naboo, being drilled every day by Obi-Wan about why it was so important to keep a low-profile. And then being a Princess of a Core world, the tracks of her adoption being covered up and being pushed into the spotlight, Leia had constantly been looking over her shoulder, knowing just how terrible things could be should she let something slip.

And despite how hard she’d tried, how tight-lipped she’d stayed and how careful she’d been, it had all come crashing down anyway.

_And I do dare say he would’ve succeeded had you not appeared and broken your brother free . . ._

As much as Leia wanted to stay angry at her brother, to point the finger and lash out and blame all her woes of late on his part, she also knew that had Luke not slipped up, the brother she loved would’ve died. The Sith would’ve claimed his soul and the boy she’d seen last on their birthday, laughing at terrible jokes and inhaling his food without care, would’ve become the latest of the Skywalker victims.

_(I won’t turn to the Dark Side . . ._

_I bet Anakin said that too . . .)_

“Forgiveness, learn you should,” a voice from behind Leia made her pause. She turned to see Master Yoda perching on a log, his gimer stick in hand and his green face slightly pinched. He looked at her as if he were staring deep into her soul.

“Forgiveness isn’t really in my forte,” Leia sighed. A part of her had always wished that she’d be more like Luke in that regard: his ability to forgive often felt too feeble but she’d prefer that over the uncomfortable weight her grudge had created.

Leia thought about their father and the monster he’d become— it felt too hard to try and forgive him for the crimes he’d committed. As much as she wished she’d be more like Luke, there was no way Leia could wrap her head around how he’d been able to forgive the elder man.

Yoda hummed, his pointed, green ears twitching. “Learn, you must.”

Leia wondered if Master Yoda was only saying this because he was tired of how her silent treatment towards Luke had been affecting their training sessions. Each lesson since the cave incident had been full of tension and both the twins’ concentrations had been lacking, meaning their ability to successfully master the Force was dampened. And their capability of team-work had been shot.

“How can you just _learn_ to forgive someone?” Leia shook her head. “It isn’t that simple.”

“Dark path you walk, hmm. Resentment, bitter it is.”

Leia frowned at the green creature, wondering if all the Jedi Masters of the past had been like this. Maybe Obi-Wan had just been the only normal one? “I don’t resent Luke!”

And really, she didn’t. Her inability to form a conversation with her brother stemmed from her hurt and guilt at what she’d said to him during their fight than her previous anger.

Leia paused before carrying on. “I just never expected Luke to be the one who betrayed me.”

Master Yoda hummed as if he understood Leia’s meaning entirely. “Those you least expect, betrayal comes from, it does.”

“Was that how you felt when my father turned to the Dark Side? Betrayed?” Leia wrung her hands together, already knowing the answer. Of course Yoda had felt betrayed— how could he not have? The Jedi had been murdered by someone who’d been one of their own.

The real question that Leia was asking, the one she’d been unable to voice exactly, was had Yoda been expecting the betrayal to have come from Leia’s father.

Yoda hummed once again, as if weighing up what to say. “Betrayed,” he nodded. “Hmm, yes. But betrayed himself, your father did.”

“Do you know why he did it?”

It always came down to that question. That unanswerable question.

Obi-Wan had never been able to give an answer whenever the twins had asked as children why their father had done what he did. That piece of the jigsaw had always been missing, teasing and leaving a blank in the elder man’s story and cautionary tales.

Even when Luke had been living with the Sith Lord, the answer had remained void.

All Luke and Leia (and Obi-Wan) knew was that one day Anakin had been happy, married to his secret wife, preparing to become a father and then the next day . . . he gave it all up for power, selling his soul and turning his back on everything he’d once fought for and loved.

It had made no sense to Obi-Wan then and even sixteen years on, it still didn’t add up.

“Controlled by fear, he was, hmm. Suffering he saw.”

Leia raised an eyebrow, feeling as if the jigsaw piece she’d been missing her whole life was slowly coming to her reach. “You spoke to him?”

“Came, he did to me. Advice, he sought.”

Leia subconsciously stepped closer to where Yoda was perched. “About what?”

The ominousness of Yoda’s voice sent chills down Leia’s spine. “Pain, he saw. Suffering. Death. Afraid, was he, of loss. Dreams, he said he saw.”

(Leia wondered why everything in her life seemed to be some sort of puzzle that took years to piece together. Normal families just sat down and discussed the hard-ships that had occurred before the birth of their children and yet Leia found herself sitting beside a green frog as he rehashed the mental turmoil her father had been going through prior to her birth. But then again, the problems normal families faced were about break-ups and money, not mass murder and soul selling.)

“What did he see in his dreams?” Leia’s stomach twisted as she thought about the dream she’d had on Alderaan, before everything had gone downhill. She’d woken up, having seen the Emperor tell an Inquisitor to kill her, unsure about whether she’d just had a vision or if it had been a figment of her imagination.

(The Inquisitor trying to kill her ten minutes later had proven it hadn’t been something she’d made up.)

Master Yoda’s fingers twitched on his gimer stick and he looked out at the trees around them, taking a moment to pause. Leia could sense a flash of regret before it vanished as quickly as it came. “Loved one, he saw the death of.”

_I won’t let you die Padme; I promise I’ll find a way to save you._

_I’m not going to die, Ani. Your dream won’t come true._

_I’ll make sure it won’t._

The memory of a dream Leia had had so long ago came flashing back, her mind skipping to when she’d seen her parents in their apartment, teasing each other about the gender of their child(ren) and talking about names. Her father had voiced his concerns about Leia’s mother dying but Padme had refuted it easily, the conversion having gone over Leia’s head.

But Leia saw the importance of it now.

Her father had been having dreams about her mother dying. He’d been convinced that his wife’s death had been impending and he’d sold his soul as a misguided means to keep her safe. Had the Sith promised him what the Jedi couldn’t? Had Palpatine spread lies to Anakin’s mind just like he’d tried with Luke? Had Anakin betrayed everyone and everything he’d once stood for and loved all because of the broken promises the Dark Side had whispered in exchange for Leia’s mother’s life?

Had he also feared for the safety of the children in her womb too?

(It was terrible and yet that small hole in Leia’s heart, where the feeling of abandonment she’d never been able to shake off had lived, thinking that her father had never cared about her or had given her up for power, slowly started to close up.)

“What did you say in return?” Leia’s breath hitched. “What did you say when he came to you, telling you about his fears for his dream?”

Whatever Yoda had said, Leia knew it hadn’t been enough. It hadn’t given Anakin what he’d been wanting to hear— it hadn’t been good enough to fight the demons that had been whispering in his mind.

After all, Leia knew how the story ended: Yoda’s advice would be given, Anakin would turn to the Dark Side, the Jedi would fall, her mother would die and the Sith would rise supreme.

“Let go, hmm,” even Yoda didn’t seem very pleased with his words as he spoke. “Accept death; natural it is. Deadly attachment can be.”

“He just wanted your help.” Leia wondered how scared her father must’ve felt in the days leading up to her and Luke’s birth. Had it felt as if there was an expiration date on the happy life he’d been living? Had he been counting down the days until his happiness had been lost forever with the death of his family? If she believed that some unknown force was going to kill her brother in a matter of time, Leia would run herself into exhaustion trying to figure out a way to stop it from happening.

Suddenly, her father’s fall seemed to make a lot of sense.

“You turned him away,” Leia couldn’t help but look and sound disgusted as she half-glared at the Jedi Master. “You told him to just accept death as if it wouldn’t crush him to lose those he loved.”

“Love not, a Jedi should.”

“But he _did_ love! And you knew that! My father was not the average Jedi and rather than accept his differences and nurture his uniqueness in his time of need, you remained rigid in your old ways and made him an outsider. You practically handed him to the Sith.”

Master Yoda didn’t say anything in rebuttal but from the way his shoulders sagged, Leia guessed he didn’t disagree with her words. Just like with Luke, their father had been isolated and alienated and because of a terrible dream that he feared would come true, he’d lived in terror with no answer on how to save those he loved.

Anakin had gone to the Jedi for help but when their strict rules and inability to adapt had become a barrier, he’d been forced to seek other sources to help save the lives of his wife and unborn children.

And the Emperor had been there.

Just like he’d been there with Luke, whispering lies and filling his mind with evil.

“Do you not regret it? Do you not think about how different things could’ve been had you helped him? Listened to him?”

For a second, Leia pictured it.

She imagined a world where the Sith had lost. Where the Jedi had survived that fateful night. Where her father’s soul and goodness had prevailed. Anakin would’ve been there, at his wife’s side, during the birth of the twins and his hands would’ve been free from the blood that forever stained his palms after the Jedi Purge as he took his children into his hold, with all the love and care a new father possessed. Would they have been raised on Naboo? Or stayed on Coruscant? Would their mother have sung them lullabies to drift them off to sleep? And would their father have woken them up every snow day to play outside when the winter seasons had arrived?

Leia felt her heart ache when she realised all of those questions would forever remain unanswered.

“Listen, I did,” Yoda croaked.

“I mean if you’d _really_ listened.”

Master Yoda hummed again, suddenly looking very tired. “Consequences, suffering I still am. Think, I do, about it a lot, hmm.”

Leia looked down at her hands, trying to make sense of her own conflicting emotions. She wanted to feel mad at Master Yoda for failing her father all of those years ago but the feeling didn’t arise. Her father had fallen because he’d been desperate to save Leia’s mother . . . and yet he’d lost her anyway. As much as Leia wanted to point the blame on the creature before her, she knew that the decision to turn to the Dark Side had been Anakin’s to make.

“I don’t know if I can forgive him,” Leia admitted, hating how voice hitched. “He’s done so many terrible things to so many people— myself and my own mother included. But . . . I’m starting to see that things aren’t as black and white as I first believed. I’m starting to understand the choices he made and why he made them.”

Leia didn’t say it and she wondered if Yoda heard the words whispered between the lines. _She would make the same choices as her father should Luke’s life be threatened._

“Intoxicating the Dark Side is, hmm, yet corrupt. Wrong, it is. A quicker path to power but better one it is not.”

Yoda’s words reminded Leia of what Obi-Wan had said after the incident with the cave had occurred: _Your every sense is drowned in darkness and it is your anger, your fear which controls you_ — her guilt only grew as she thought of how unfairly she’d treated her brother in the past few days. The memory of Luke’s shaggy hair and tired expression when she’d faced him on Coruscant was burnt into her mind and Leia felt her heart clench as she realised how close she’d been to losing him to a force that had once snatched her father, as well.

“Did you know that the Emperor tried to turn Luke to the Dark Side?”

Surprisingly, Yoda nodded. “Hmm, fought hard your brother did. Ask you this, I do: fought as hard, would you have?”

The question was cold but the answer was colder: _no._ Leia had felt the brush of the Dark Side when she’d briefly lost herself to the thought of extracting revenge against Tarkin. It had been icy to touch and it had consumed her entirely. Her blood had boiled and for the simplest of seconds, Leia had felt invincible, as if nothing or no-one could stop her on her path to gain justice for all she’d lost.

Had Luke not been there to steer her back to the light and talk sense into her, Leia knew she wouldn’t be the same person she was now. How he’d managed to stay so connected to the light when darkness had been cornering him from every angle without anyone to help him to fight it off, Leia had no clue.

_Think of someone you love— someone you love the most— and imagine a lightsaber going straight through their heart . . ._

What would she have done in Luke’s position? The guilt in Leia’s chest weighed heavier when she admitted that she would’ve done the exact same as her brother. The image of Luke would’ve been projected in her mind and just like with Luke, she would have felt an unimaginable pain of grief. Rage would’ve flooded her every sense and the Dark Side would’ve fed off her desire for revenge.

Luke had gone through all of that and he’d still come out of the other side— but Leia wasn’t sure that, had she been in that position, she would’ve.

Luke had betrayed her to the Emperor, revealing a secret that a handful of people had promised to guard with their lives . . . but if he’d not slipped up, then Leia never would’ve gone to Coruscant to save him from the Dark Side and her brother would’ve been lost. A million things had happened since she’d left Alderaan forever but the one thing Leia realised she would never take back was her freeing Luke from the shackles the Emperor had placed on him.

“When you first met us, you said that you saw a lot of our father in us. Is that still true?”

Yoda hummed in answer.

Leia’s voice was a whisper, almost fearing the cold answer the Jedi could give back. “Is that something we should be afraid of?” It went unsaid that Luke had nothing to fear for.

“Right, you were. Average Jedi your father was not. Accepted his differences, we should have. Much of him I sense in you but bad thing, necessarily not.” When Leia looked at Master Yoda now, she noticed how weary he seemed to be suddenly. His body was arched, his weight relying heavily on his gimer stick and his ears were slanted downward. It was as if his 900 years were finally catching up to him. “Twisted he became but good man before that, he was. Strong, confident, fearless— much he has passed onto you. His mistakes, make you will not. Know this I do.”

The beginnings of a reassuring smile crept up on Leia’s lips but it faltered when Yoda spoke on. “But . . . wary of your attachments, you should be.”

A frown instead replaced Leia’s almost-smile. “Why are you so afraid of love? You cared for the Jedi who died during the Purge— you still grieve for them. Isn’t that a form of attachment?”

“Different, it is.”

 _Of course it is_ , Leia resisted the urge to roll her eyes. What were the odds that Master Yoda was simply being hypocritical? “How so?”

“Give up everything for an individual, I would not.”

So . . . he _had_ heard the words whispered between the lines from earlier. And he clearly disapproved. It made sense to be so cautious about attachment if one was willing to betray everyone and destroy everything for another— after all, it had been Anakin’s love for Padme which had doomed the Galaxy.

“But would you have given up everything for the Jedi Order?” Leia rebutted, raising one eyebrow.

Master Yoda didn’t reply and Leia didn’t know whether to take that as a yes or no.

She was about to carry on her point, hoping that her words were finally starting to break through to the elder Jedi and tear down the centuries-old-belief that seemed to be ingrained in Yoda’s brain when a high-pitched shriek suddenly cut into the air. Artoo whizzed past as if he were on fire, not hesitating to pause as he shot past Leia and Yoda into the swampy wilderness around them. All it took was three seconds of stunned silence before Luke appeared, panting and red-faced, as he stopped to stare wildly at his sister. His cheeks were flushed and his hair was askew and Leia didn’t need to reach across their bond to feel his deep-rooted panic and worry.

“Have you seen Artoo?!”

“It was hard to miss him!” Leia shot back, forgetting her previous awkwardness at being in Luke’s presence after the cave incident. Her worry for their beloved droid was starting to take over and she couldn’t help but frown at her brother. “What happened? He shot past like his circuits were on fire!”

“Did you see what direction he went in?!”

Leia pointed to where Artoo had gone, the vines on the floor slightly crushed from his fast movements. Luke, despite still panting and clearly out of breath, started to go in the direction Leia was pointing but she held out a hand to stop him. “Luke, what happened to Artoo?”

“I don’t know!” Luke shrugged, sounding as confused as Leia felt. “One second, he was fine and then suddenly he was making that high-pitched shriek and just shot off in this direction. Threepio said he must’ve seen something that spooked him.”

After all this time, Leia was sure that she knew the astromech droid rather well by now: he wasn’t the sort of droid that was easily spooked.

“Follow,” Master Yoda chuckled absent-mindedly. “He intends for you.”

The idea of being alone after the fight two days ago brought out an awkwardness between both Luke and Leia but with the worry for Artoo taking over, they decided to put their feelings aside in order to find their missing droid. Without wasting another minute, they took off in the direction to droid had gone.

* * *

As a swamp planet, Dagobah was mostly a silent place. With no civilisations and the number of life forms being limited, there was a starkness that hung over the planet, especially when the evening darkness crept in. The occasional flutter of a swamp creature’s wings would flap and a bubble in the murky water would pop but when the light waned away and the mist on the ground grew higher and colder, it was almost eerie how silent the planet became.

However, for the first time in centuries, Dagobah’s forest was alive with cries and echoes as the twins marched through the swampy plains on a search for their missing droid.

Luke cupped his hands around his mouth, drawing in a deep breath before yelling at the top of his lungs. “Artoo! R2-D2, where are you? Come out buddy!”

But the droid’s infamous beeps and whistles didn’t echo back as the twins trudged forward, refusing to turn back until Artoo was once again by their side. “Artoo!” Leia’s voice was just as loud as her brother’s as she squinted in the darkness, trying to spot any of the droid’s flashing lights in the distance.

“He couldn’t have gone that far!” Luke huffed. He kicked at a vine by his foot.

“He was going pretty fast,” Leia sighed, gathering a breath before yelling out for the droid again. “Artoo!” When no reply came, she turned to Luke with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face. “What did you _do_ to him?”

Luke looked and sounded offended, raising his eyebrow as he placed his hand over his chest. “ _Me_? I didn’t _do_ anything!”

In hindsight, Leia hadn’t meant to be as accusatory as she’d sounded.

“Well, what happened to him then?”

“I don’t know!” Luke threw his hands up in the air, looking rather annoyed. “He just freaked out and went off in this direction for some unknown reason! It wasn’t my fault!”

Leia hated how easily defensive she was. It was one of her worst traits, by far. And yet she was unable to help herself from crossing her arms over her chest and jutting her chin out as she replied sulkily. “I didn’t mean to imply that it was.”

“Sure,” Luke rolled his eyes.

An uncomfortable silence settled in, almost as heavy as the fog by their feet. Growing up together there had been a great number of spats that the twins’ had struggled through but Leia knew she could count on her hands the amount of times that their fights had been left so unresolved that they’d been subjected to awkward silences like the one they were drowning in now. It felt odd to stand so close to Luke and have absolutely no idea as to what to say to him. It felt wrong.

Luke, on his part, felt the exact same. The weight of their silence was a burden he hated to carry and yet it clung to him, refusing to let go. He’d been subjected to his sister’s silent treatments a lot in their childhood but it had never been so painful as it had been in the past two days.

He could remember a time when he’d been eight— only two years before their separation— when he’d accidentally broken one of Leia’s toys. It had been her favourite and despite Luke being adamant that it had been mistake, Leia had immediately called murder and iced him out for days on end as a form of punishment.

At first, Luke had loved it. It had been a blessing in disguise and he’d loved the sudden lack of Leia’s know-it-all comments and teasing names. His ability to concentrate had risen without her voice whispering things in his mind and his irritation levels had decreased without his sister there, knowing exactly what to say to push his buttons. But as time had passed, the silence had continued to stretch out. It had only taken three days of silence for Luke to realise that Leia’s silent treatment was the worst form of punishment she could dish out.

Luke cleared his throat. A small part of him wondered why his sister had to be as stubborn now, at sixteen, as she had been when she’d been eight.

“I’m sorry.”

Leia paused, blinking several times as she took Luke’s words in. “What?”

“I’m sorry,” Luke repeated, looking down at the foggy ground. “I don’t know if you want to hear this or if you even care but I am sorry. I didn’t realise what I’d done— the Dark Side, it just consumed me in that moment and I . . . I messed up. I would never want to hurt you. Or betray you.”

“I shouldn’t have blamed you for everything,” Leia didn’t hesitate as she let her guilt unfold. “That was cruel and wrong. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It was true though. I slipped up and because of that, all those people died! Their blood is on my hands—“

“No, Luke!” Leia shook her head, hating how Luke had internalised her mean comments. “That isn’t true. You made a mistake— a mistake I would have made as well had I been in your position. You never would have betrayed me willingly, I know that. All of the people who died over the past few months: Bail, the Rebels, the entirety of Alderaan; they didn’t die because of you: they died because of the Emperor. Their blood is on _his_ hands.”

“But—“

“I said those things in the heat of anger, Luke. I didn’t mean them and I’m the one who should be sorry. You spent three week in Hell and you came out the other side stronger and better. I never could have done that, Luke. What I said was unfair.”

“If the Emperor hadn’t found out the truth, you would still be a Princess, Leia. And Alderaan . . . it may have never been destroyed. That _is_ on me.”

Leia shook her head. “We could drive ourselves crazy deliberating the ‘what if’s’. And I don’t care about being Princess— the Emperor finding out meant I was given an opportunity to free you from his hold. Between you and being a Princess, I choose you, Luke. Always.”

“I know but—“

“No buts,” Leia sighed. “What happened to Alderaan is no-one’s fault but the Emperor and Tarkin’s. It wasn’t you who built the Death Star and it wasn’t you who took aim at it— that desire for destruction on Tarkin’s part was there long-before the Emperor found out the truth and things spiralled. The Emperor was preying on you, Luke; he was manipulating you and spying on your thoughts. Everything I said was because I was hurt, I felt betrayed and I thought the Emperor finding out was the worst thing that had happened to me. But I was wrong.”

Luke frowned, not seeing where his sister could be going with this. “You were wrong? How so?”

“The Emperor finding out stopped the worst thing that could’ve happened to me from happening: him finding out meant I didn’t lose you.”

Luke could sense the truth behind his sister’s words as he reached out to her through their bond, feeling all her guilt and sadness about what had occurred two days ago. He showed her his own feelings of remorse and before he knew it, Leia had raced forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug he readily reciprocated.

 _‘I’m still sorry,’_ Luke whispered across their bond.

 _‘I know,_ ’ Leia sent back, her face pressed into the crook of Luke’s neck. _“I am too.’_

The quiet moment was suddenly broken into by a series of beeps and whistles that steadily grew louder and louder. The sound of vines and twigs snapping as wheels rolled over them made the twins break apart, looking in the direction of the noise. It didn’t take long for the figure of Artoo, his lights flashing and happy beeps echoing from him, to appear from the rising fog and stop by the twins’ feet.

“Artoo!” Luke instantly rushed to the droid’s side, kneeling on the ground as he looked for any obvious damage Artoo could’ve sustained. He patted the astromech’s dome when nothing appeared out of the ordinary. “There you are, buddy! You had us worried!”

Leia watched as the completely unharmed and in-perfect condition droid (ignoring the dirt he was now covered in) whistled happily, going off on a story about how he’d overreacted. Artoo could only speak in binary and yet Leia had been with the droid long enough to hear the blasé tone to his beeps. With a slightly incredulous scoff, Leia realised that they’d been played for fools.

“You really don’t get enough credit, do you Artoo?”

Luke, always the last one to see the trick, frowned up at his sister when the droid went silent. “Leia?”

“Don’t you see Luke?” Leia shook her head with a mirthless smirk. “We got parent trapped!”

“Huh?”

“Parent trapped!”

“Repeating the same phrase over and over isn’t going to make me understand,” Luke cocked an eyebrow up, looking at his twin as if she were crazy.

Leia sighed dramatically. Did she really have to explain everything to her clueless brother? “Artoo played us! He pretended to be spooked by something so we would chase after him and find some time to talk to one another!”

Artoo let out a loud beep that the twins translated to mean: _you can’t prove that!_

“Just admit it Artoo, there was nothing that spooked you! This was all a facade to get me and Luke alone so we could make up!”

Artoo let out a low whistle, neither confirming nor denying Leia’s earlier statement. In reply, Leia just rolled her eyes. She wouldn’t admit it but a small part of her was thankful to the quick-witted droid for his part in their reconciliation. “You’re sneaky Artoo,” Leia chuckled, shaking her head as she stepped forward to pat the astromech’s dome. The Sith worked fast but Artoo worked faster.

“Artoo wouldn’t do that!” Luke was still frowning. His face was stuck in a look of disbelief. “He wouldn’t fake a freak out like that!”

Artoo whistled, rocking back and forth in a movement that Leia was sure if he’d been human would’ve been the equivalent of shuffling his feet. His beeps and whistles ended up translating to a rather sly: _don’t be too sure about that._ . . . Before Luke could even reply, his face morphing into a stunned expression as if he truly hadn’t expected the droid to be capable of the set-up, Artoo beeped again.

_So, are you two friends again?_

Letting his shock go, Luke patted Artoo’s dome with a slight sigh. “Yeah buddy, we’re all good.”

Artoo let out a series of beeps: _good, otherwise I would have gotten Threepio involved to sort out your argument and then you would’ve been sorry._

Leia cringed— in every possible way, having Threepio get involved would’ve been the worst-case scenario. “I don’t think we’ll ever be desperate enough to need Threepio as a peacemaker.”

The astromech droid let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle. _Yeah, he can be pretty insufferable._

“That’s one way of saying it,” Luke snickered.

A moment of silence passed between the three of them. Leia was about to suggest that they head back to the hut considering the dark night drawing ever colder (and no doubt a lecture would be forthcoming from Obi-Wan once again about their missed curfew) when Artoo let out a sombre beep. His happy chortle seemed to have depleted and when he beeped, it was far lower than before.

_I’m glad you two are friends again. I don’t like it when you argue . . . it reminds me of the bad days before I lost Anakin._

The twins exchanged a look, both seeming to understand Artoo’s insistence at meddling in their argument once he’d explained his fears. How many times had the droid seen a pattern between Luke, Leia and their father? How many times had he worried that he could lose them in the same way he’d once lost his friend?

Leia ducked down so she was at eye-level with Artoo’s scanner. “That’ll never happen to us Artoo, we won’t get lost like he did. I promise. Luke and I fight but we’ll always make up because that’s what we do.”

“We’re family,” Luke nodded. “You have nothing to fear Artoo.”

 _Obi-Wan and Padme were Anakin’s family once too,_ Artoo’s whistles were downcast and low. _But he still believed the Emperor’s lies that they weren’t. Obi-Wan was like his brother and one day they argued and . . . Anakin never came back._

The truth behind his statement hit the twins hard. But after her conversation with Yoda, Leia knew that there had been other issues hidden below the surface as to why her father had turned to the Dark Side.

“But that’s the thing Artoo,” Leia patted his dome, giving him a sad look. “Luke and I know what our father didn’t: that the Emperor spreads _lies_.”

“You’re stuck with us forever Artoo,” Luke smirked. “We won’t let darkness tear our family apart— not again.”

Artoo whistled happily. That was all he’d ever wanted.

* * *

By the time they broke through the clearing of the swamp forest, Master Yoda’s hut laying on the patch of land surrounded by murky water just before them, it was extremely late. They had no way of telling the time accurately but having spent enough time (too much time, Leia would argue) on the desolate planet, both Luke and Leia had grown used to guessing the time depending on how dark it was and how thick the fog grew to be.

As a bleak planet, Dagobah had no sunlight to warm the twins during the day. It was often grey and dull but at night the surrounding areas became so dark that it mimicked blindness. And as they navigated their way across the pathway leading to Master Yoda’s hut, using the Force as their eyes, the fog at their feet was thick.

The lights were on in Master Yoda’s hut and the orange glow from the carved-out window in the bark helped to navigate the twins forward. But something was wrong . . . Luke felt it the moment the hut was right before them.

 _‘Something’s wrong,’_ Luke paused, feeling dread build up in the pit of his stomach. His words were whispered across his bond with Leia and she stopped beside him, giving him a quizzical look.

 _‘What do you mean?’_ She sent back. Artoo beeped out a question asking why the twins had paused but he was met with no answer. Instead, Luke just stared forward, his eyes glued to the orange glow coming from the window as his sense of dread grew bigger and bigger.

Something was wrong, he knew it.

Just then, Obi-Wan exited the hut and the expression on his face was enough to confirm Luke’s sense of dread. But the words that left his mouth made Luke’s stomach drop.

“It’s Master Yoda.”

“What about him?” Leia frowned. She stared between Obi-Wan and Luke, wondering if this was how the elder man felt when the twins had private conversations he wasn’t privy too. She didn’t like being kept out of the loop and for the first time, she could understand why Obi-Wan had a peeve about their silent chats.

Obi-Wan looked rather pale, his elderly face was drawn drown and he ran his hand through his beard with the weariness of someone too experienced with this sort of pain. “He isn’t well.”

That only made Leia frown more. “He was well earlier,” she rebuked. “I was talking to him a few hours ago and he was fine!”

“He isn’t fine now,” Obi-Wan shook his head, looking grave. “I fear . . . he might not recover.”

Luke took in a sharp inhale of breath. “Can we see him?” Obi-Wan didn’t reply, instead he stepped aside silently, leaving the entrance to the hut open for them to make their way inside. It was with tentative steps and a sickening dread that the twins forced themselves to move forward.

Once inside, all arguments Leia had about the Jedi Master being fine hours ago flew out the window.

Because Master Yoda clearly was not _fine_ now.

Swaddled in a bed of blankets, it was clear to the eye that Master Yoda was weak and that his hold on the living Force was starting to wane. There was a weariness written across his face and the closer the twins stepped, the more they could sense his presence starting to fade away.

“Master Yoda,” Luke kneeled by the foot of the Jedi’s bed. “You can’t die! You just can’t!”

Yoda hummed, his voice sounding weaker than it had when Leia had seen him earlier. His croaky voice was more broken and his words were spoken lowly. “Natural, hmm, death is. Stop it one cannot.”

( _I won’t let you die Padme; I promise I’ll find a way to save you._ )

Leia wondered if it could be called arrogance that her father had once tried to stop something that Master Yoda deemed natural. Whether untimely or not, death was a natural part of life. Trying to stop it never turned out good for anyone— just look at where Anakin had ended up. And Leia’s mother had definitely not benefited from his attempts to save her.

“Can’t you hold on, Master?” Leia knelt beside Luke, feeling Obi-Wan hover behind them. He seemed to have accepted the situation much as Master Yoda had. “Can’t you fight it?”

“Strong am I with the Force, but not that strong. Time it is, join the Force I must.”

Luke shook his head. Obi-Wan placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder as a means of reassurance. It grounded Luke to the moment, reminding him that this was real. Master Yoda— _the_ Master Yoda— who seemed to be older than death himself was actually passing into the Force. And there was nothing they could do. “How can this be? Just yesterday you were your normal sprightly self whacking Leia and I with your gimer stick!”

“And you were fine a few hours ago!” Leia added in.

A slight chuckle escaped Master Yoda’s throat and his ears twitched in a lazy fashion. “900 years old am I, make it to 901 no intention do I.”

They’d never been close but Leia felt a stab in her heart at his words. Something in her desperately wanted him to stay despite everything. “I think 901 would look good on you.”

“Make it to 900 we’ll see for you, a year more we’ll ask. No, be your answer. Seen much I have, great triumphs and deep sorrows. Uncertain the Future is. But faith have I, hmm, in you.”

“What if that faith is misplaced?” Leia couldn’t help but ask, her doubt wiggling in. “What if we disappoint you?”

Luke’s fingers curled around the edge of Master Yoda’s bed, his voice creeping towards pleading. “We need you to complete our training.”

But Master Yoda seemed to be having none of it. He shook his head, pulling the blankets up closer to his chin. “Disappoint, you will not. Need me, you do not.”

“Sure we do, Master Yoda! Our training isn’t complete!”

“No, need you do not. Hmm, know already all you need. And others you have. Watch over you, others will. Master Kenobi, hmm, wise man he is; guide you he can.”

“I will not fail you Master,” there was a hardness to Obi-Wan’s voice and his hand on Luke’s shoulder tightened a fraction. “I won’t fail them.” He spoke as if he was trying to promise himself and not the dying Jedi Master.

Master Yoda hummed, his croaky voice breaking even more as his weariness seemed to grow. By the minute, his hold on the living world of the Force seemed to slacken. “Remember: anger, fear, aggression . . . the Dark Side are they. Your attachments, vulnerable they do make you.”

“I know,” Leia hated to admit it but there was no denying the truth. Just like her father had walked the dark path for her mother, she would walk it for Luke. “I know my attachments can be exploited but . . . Luke and I are stronger when we’re together.”

Master Yoda turned his head, his gaze resting on the twins with a heavy look. “Underestimate the powers of the Emperor do not. Pit you against one another, he will. Attachment, he will use, lure you towards darkness he will.”

Luke’s voice was hard. “We won’t fall.”

But Master Yoda didn’t seem too content despite how convinced Luke had sounded. “When gone am I, last of the Jedi’s teachings live on in you it will. Future of the Jedi, you are.”

“But we aren’t Jedi,” Leia stressed, sparing a second to look at Obi-Wan. The elder man had his gaze fixed on Yoda however, looking at the dying Jedi Master with sadness.

“Not yet,” Master Yoda seemed to agree. “One thing remains: Vader.”

The twins shared a look; Leia’s eyes reflected her sorrow whilst Luke just had a hardness to him, one that reflected his anger and determination. “We won’t kill our father,” Luke’s voice left no room for argument. “We just won’t! He’s our father, Master Yoda!”

“Twisted, he has become. Confront Vader you must, then Jedi you will be.”

“You ask too much Master,” Obi-Wan shook his head. He knew how heavy this burden was— he knew because he’d carried it. Sixteen years ago Obi-Wan had begged Yoda for the task to kill the Emperor, to which Yoda had denied.

_Send me to kill the Emperor. I will not kill Anakin._

_To fight this Lord Sidious, strong enough you are not._

_He is like my brother! I cannot do it!_

_Twisted by the Dark Side young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone he is. Consumed by Darth Vader._

But where Obi-Wan had failed, he knew, together, Luke and Leia would succeed. And that, in itself, was a burden he never wanted them to feel. He knew what it felt like to stare the person you love in the eyes and not recognise them. To hear the voice that you used to laugh with scream insults at you instead.

He’d left Mustafar a changed man and no matter how much time past, Obi-Wan knew he could never be the man he’d once been again. His life was forever defined by the events that had occurred on Mustafar.

“Light to be restored, only way it is. Brought down the Sith must be.”

“But,” Luke paused for a second, sounding so quiet and broken. There was heartbreak etched across his face. “He’s our father. That means something to me even if it doesn’t to you.”

“Your father he is no more. Once fallen, unbreakable the grip of the Dark Side is. Restore light you must.”

Luke looked down at his hands, mulling over how close to home Master Yoda’s words seemed to hit. _I cannot disobey my Master, the Dark Side forbids it,_ his father had said. But Luke didn't see the Dark Side as a black hole that one could not escape from should they be sucked into it. He saw it as a prison, with shackles of strong metal that locked you up and kept you unable to escape. But love was the axe that would break those shackles and no matter what Yoda said, Luke refused to give up trying to free his father.

Master Yoda let out a cough, his eyes starting to close and his presence in the Force dipped significantly. “Runs through your veins the Force does. Strong in your family, it is. Great power you hold. Passed on much of my knowledge I have.”

Leia sniffed, hating how weak Master Yoda looked with his drooping eyelids. “We’ll try to do you proud,” she promised.

“Do or do not . . . there is no . . . try,” the Jedi Master’s voice was barely a whisper. He let out a broken sigh, his eyes finally closing and his head rolling to his shoulder as his breath left him for the last time. There was only silence in the hut when Master Yoda’s form suddenly faded into nothingness, the blankets falling down to the bed as only air occupied the space where the Jedi had been.

Unlike the deaths Luke and Leia had felt over the past few months, Master Yoda’s felt serene. He was now at peace.

The Force felt calm in the small space of the hut.

* * *

It was starting to get light by the time they managed to drag themselves out of the hut. The mist on the ground had thinned enough that their feet were visible and the darkness had lifted so there was a hue of grey creeping down from the trees. A bitter chill was in the air and as they stood outside the hut, facing the swampy water that surrounded them, there was something eerie about Dagobah now. The place seemed far more gloomier than usual. Just the little bit more empty.

Obi-Wan knelt down, placing the piece of bark he’d ripped off from a nearby tree on the surface of the murky water. He paused for a single second before placing Master Yoda’s Jedi robe on the centre of the bark. Ignoring the cracks of his knees, he stood to his full height, the twins flanking him on each side.

Like countless other younglings, Obi-Wan could remember being taught the very basics of Jedi training from Master Yoda. The elder Jedi had been the one who’d taught a young, copper-haired Obi-Wan how to meditate, feel the Force and the correct stance for wielding one’s lightsaber. His wisdom had been something others sought after and for the entirety of Obi-Wan’s life, Master Yoda had been a figure of greatness and respect.

Ten years of exile, alone, had been rough on Yoda and Obi-Wan had often found himself coming to the realisation that the Jedi Master he’d spoken to on Polis Massa had not been the same one he’d found on Dagobah, six years ago. But wise Yoda had remained and despite the creeping of senility, he’d never stopped being great.

Artoo beeped sadly from Leia’s side, his light illuminating the bark that held the last of Master Yoda on the murky water.

No matter how old Master Yoda had been— and he’d been old decades before Obi-Wan had even been born— never had Obi-Wan expected this day to come.

“May you rest peacefully in the Force,” Obi-Wan’s voice was low as he lifted his hand to send a gust of air towards the water. The bark holding Master Yoda’s Jedi robes started to drift off, peacefully floating away in the same manner that its owner had gone.

(Between Qui-Gon’s murder, every life cut short in the Clone Wars, Satine’s assassination, all the Jedi brutally slaughtered and Padme’s heartbroken despair, Obi-Wan realised that Master Yoda was the first person in twenty-nine years that he’d felt pass into the Force with nothing but peace. No pain, just acceptance.)

Silence once again surrounded them, the only sound being the gentle whistling of the wind and the rustling of the water as the bark continued to travel further and further away. Obi-Wan felt glued to the spot as he watched Master Yoda’s Jedi robes drift off in the morning light. In many ways, Yoda had been the figure of the Jedi Order. The Jedi Grandmaster. The Head of the Council.

With his death, Obi-Wan felt as if the Jedi Order he’d grown up with was truly, finally gone.

Two hands slipped into Obi-Wan’s own, Luke’s in his left and Leia’s in his right. The twins gave his hands a squeeze, both of them remaining silent but their actions spoke a thousand words. _Future of the Jedi you are_ , Master Yoda had said and as Obi-Wan squeezed their hands back, he found much of his hope restored.

The Jedi Order he’d always known was finally gone but with the twins beside him, a new one would rise.

“So,” Luke finally spoke once Master Yoda’s robe had disappeared from sight completely. “What do we do now?” It didn’t feel right to stay on Dagobah now that Master Yoda was gone. The planet felt odd now, as if it knew what it was missing.

Obi-Wan sighed, a hand going up to stroke his beard. “I suppose there is not much else here for us now. Perhaps after six years, it is time to rejoin the Galaxy.”

“Do you think you’re ready?” Leia gave Obi-Wan a solemn look; she understood that six years was a long time to be disconnected from the Galaxy and returning to the bustle, noise and brewing war would be enough to rattle anyone. And returning to the Galaxy at large meant possibly facing Vader again, something Leia knew Obi-Wan secretly dreaded.

“Whether I am ready or not, it is time.”

Artoo let out a beep and Luke looked down at the astromech, a frown growing on his face. “Artoo’s right— how are we meant to get off Dagobah? Our ship is still in the swamp and even if we get it out, there won’t be enough room for us all. It was a tight squeeze with just us and Threepio.”

“You seem to forget that I have a means of travel,” Obi-Wan smirked. “How else would I have gotten here? My ship will fit us all.”

It didn’t take long to gather up their belongings, after all, all the twins had brought were the droids and the clothes on their backs. Even Obi-Wan didn’t care for much, grabbing a spare robe from Master Yoda’s hut and a few rations before they set off into the greying day to where Obi-Wan’s ship had been stashed the last six years.

Their time on Dagobah had been anything but fun but faced with the prospect of leaving, it felt odd to go so soon. Their training felt as if it had ended too abruptly and yet despite the short length of Master Yoda’s teaching, their knowledge and abilities had doubled.

Ignoring Threepio’s excited rambling at the prospect of finally leaving Dagobah for good, Leia paused and took a second to look back. The lights in Master Yoda’s hut had gone out now, the little house looking as if it had gone into an eternal rest like its owner.

Dagobah would never be her favourite planet but Leia knew it would always have a space in her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RIP Yoda :(


	36. Yarna

“I wish you’d let me fly,” Luke whined, crossing his arms over his chest as he sunk down lower in his seat, glaring in the direction of where Obi-Wan sat in the pilot seat. From the moment they’d boarded the ship, ready to leave Dagobah behind forever, Luke had been twitching to sit at the controls and fly.

His begging had been insistent at first but then with every “no” Obi-Wan had given him, Luke had calmed down to intermittent whining. The last few times he’d broached the subject, Obi-Wan had just ignored him but this time the elder man sighed heavily.

“I prefer my ships to be in one piece so to save us time and credits, I think I’ll stick to piloting.”

Luke sat up in his seat, throwing his hands in the air. He sounded as if he’d just been accused of murder. “I do not crash ships!”

Obi-Wan spared the boy a glance, setting him with a dry look. “The star fighter still currently submerged in Dagobah’s swamp tells a different tale.”

Leia bit her lip, purposely looking in a different direction in order to avoid bursting out laughing. As much as she wanted to, she knew it would only make Luke’s attitude worse. But as Leia swallowed down her laughter, she found herself appreciating Obi-Wan’s dry humour; having been a child the last time they’d seen each other, so many of Obi-Wan’s sarcastic jokes had gone over her head and with age and maturity on her side now, Leia felt as if she were seeing a new side to the man who’d raised her.

“That was one time!” Luke stressed, making a little spluttering sound. “And I shouldn’t be penalised for that! You try flying through a fog with Leia screaming in your ear! If anything, she should be blamed for that crash not me!”

The laughter she’d been trying to swallow disappeared as if it had never existed. Leia set Luke with a hard glare, giving him a look she knew would be intimidating to be on the receiving end of. “How was that crash _my_ fault?”

“You grabbed the controls! I was doing fine until you started yanking the controls and caused us to crash!”

Leia’s eyes blazed with anger. “How can you call flying-blind-at-full-throttle ‘doing fine’? We were going to crash because of your recklessness!”

“And yet the reason we actually did crash was because you grabbed the controls and sent us veering down!”

Leia’s mouth opened to retaliate, her hands balling up into fists at her brother’s infuriating annoyance when Obi-Wan cut over her. His voice was loud and strong, ending the argument with only a few words. “None of what either of you are saying is filling me up with confidence.”

Luke turned back to Obi-Wan, his eyes pleading and his tone bordering begging territory. “I have my license Obi-Wan; I passed first time!”

The elder man nodded, pride mingling into his passive voice. “Congratulations.”

“I just want to prove to you that I’m a great pilot now,” Luke’s voice dipped, a vulnerable tone creeping in. The cockpit was quiet after his admission with it only being broken by Artoo’s low and long beep.

Obi-Wan sighed once more, giving Luke a sad look. “You have nothing to prove to me Luke. I’ve always known piloting has been your passion and I have every confidence that you’re mastering the skill. However now is not the time for arguments.”

Curious now, Leia leant forward in her seat. “How come?”

“Because of that,” Obi-Wan spared a hand from the controls to point at the planet now appearing before them. It wasn’t very large on any grand scale and it was a dusty yellow colour with patches of a bleaker colour dotted around the surface. They hadn’t entered hyperspace since leaving Dagobah and considering they’d only been flying for a few hours, it meant whatever planet appearing before them had to of been close by.

“What planet is that?”

“Askaj.”

 _‘Never heard of it before,’_ Luke sent across his bond with Leia, not looking very impressed at the planet coming up on their view-screen.

_‘Considering how close it is to Dagobah, that doesn’t surprise me.’_

Obi-Wan carried on talking, either electing to ignore the evidence of the twins’ private conversation or being oblivious to how they glanced to each other as they communicated. “We need more fuel if we want to attempt jumping to hyperspace and Askaj should be the best place to keep our heads down and not draw attention to ourselves.”

Luke frowned. “Is it controlled by the Empire?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are we landing on it?” Leia had never been one to question Obi-Wan’s intelligence but she was starting to worry some of Master Yoda’s senility had passed onto him. They were trying to avoid the Empire— not land on a world that sat under its thumb!

Obi-Wan switched on the ship’s shields as he flew closer to Askaj’s atmosphere. He remained calm and collected despite Luke and Leia’s brewing anxiety at his current plan. “Askaj is controlled by the Empire, yes, but the Askajians are not Imperial friendly. The Grand Moff who governs this sector is rather cruel and oppressive. Lots of the Askajians have relocated to Tatooine because of his controlling rule.”

Luke wrinkled up his nose, sticking out his tongue as if he’d tasted something bad. “People actively choose to relocate to Tatooine? This Grand Moff must really be bad!”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan nodded. “We should be able to get fuel here, as well as hear whispers about where the Rebellion could be.” One of his hands let go of the controls as they flew through the planet’s atmosphere to the dusty land below. “But I need you both to be on your best behaviours— do not draw attention to yourselves.”

The twins shared a look of dread, knowing that no matter how hard they tried, trouble always seemed to find them. They’d tried keeping their heads down on Tatooine and look at what had happened next: a drunkard had started yelling abuse at them, they’d been attacked by a bounty hunter and ended up in a dogfight with said-bounty hunter trying to destabilise the ship they’d been on.

“Seriously you two,” Obi-Wan carried on, having sensed the twins’ dread. “Heads down. No trouble.”

As the ship landed in an empty fuel dock, neither Luke or Leia felt very confident about the situation they were now in.

* * *

Askaj reminded the twins a lot of Tatooine. It was a desert planet, not very pleasing to the eye, however it was nowhere near as warm as the Hutt-controlled planet had been. It was also far more pleasant. There were no unruly criminals walking around and despite being an Imperial-controlled world, there were fair few Stormtroopers patrolling the tribe areas.

The Askajians resembled a humanoid in many ways, except they had bigger girths and the skin on their forehead was far more wrinkled and thick. Their voices were more croaky and it took the twins a few seconds to understand what was being said to them.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Leia tried not to sound rude as she looked down at the little Askajian girl who’d been trying to communicate something to her for the past few minutes. Obi-Wan had filled the ship up with fuel half an hour ago, having left the twins with strict instructions not to wander nor cause trouble when he’d disappeared into a local cantina to try and scout out information for where the Rebellion could be. (They’d tried to join him but unlike on Tatooine, the bartenders on Askaj actually cared about the youth wasting their lives away.)

They’d just been browsing around a little market, trying not to draw attention to themselves with the one or two Stormtroopers who passed by when the little girl had gotten in their way, repeating the same word over and over again to which the twins’ couldn’t translate.

“Yarna!” The girl repeated, her voice not as croaky the rest of her species. “Yarna!” She pointed at Leia with youthful innocence twinkling in her eyes. “Yarna!”

Leia hated that she couldn’t understand. She turned to Luke but her brother just shrugged, not understanding either. They’d been trying to make sense of what the little girl had been saying for the past five minutes to no avail. “I’m sorry I don’t understand,” Leia cringed, hoping she wasn’t letting the little girl down.

But the little girl’s smile didn’t fall and she kept trying to convey what she meant by pointing at Leia and repeating the same word. “Yarna!”

A gruff and croaky voice from down the end of the market place had the little girl pausing, turning to where one of her parent’s were clearly calling out for her. She uttered another word that neither Luke or Leia could translate— presumably a form of goodbye— waving at them before running off to where her mother stood.

“I wonder what she’d been trying to say,” Leia hummed, watching as the little girl ran off. “Where’s Threepio when you need him?” It was just typical that the first time the protocol droid would really come in handy and make all the headaches he’d given the twins worth it, he’d been left, alongside Artoo, to finally get the charging he needed on the ship.

Luke just shrugged once more, continuing to slowly make his way down the market place. There were so many things being sold, from odd-looking fruit to thick, handmade pendants that probably weighed a tonne. All of the Askajians behind their stalls made comments to the twins as they passed but each time, Luke and Leia just smiled, unable to translate the Askaj native tongue.

It was just passing the forty-five minute mark since Obi-Wan had left them to their own devices that Luke let out a loud and long groan. His patience was running thin and they’d lapped the market place three times by now.

“Do you think Obi-Wan’s done yet? I’m bored!”

Leia looked in the direction of the cantina, where the doors to the entrance were just in sight. Obi-Wan had told them he’d give them a mental nudge when he was finished but they’d yet to feel anything. “Who knows how long it’s going to take,” Leia sighed.

“Why would it take so long? He just needs to ask someone!”

“You can’t just outright ask someone a question like that!”

“And why not?”

Leia put her hands on her hips, giving Luke the look she’d perfected to convey how much of a nerf she thought he was being. “What are you meant to do? Just go up to someone and say: ‘hey do you know where the Rebellion might be hanging out these days?’ What if the person is a spy?”

“And what if they reply back: ‘oh no problem, last I heard the Rebels are camping out on blah blah blah’? Job done!”

Despite Luke’s words shining a light on the true nature of his naivety, Leia let a small smile creep up on her face as she rolled her eyes. Her brother really was living in some fantasy Galaxy where he imagined everyone was wholesomely good, helping every single person out. “Nerf.”

“Hutt.”

“Sleemo.”

“Rancor—“

“Do you two have identification?”

Both Luke and Leia froze as the monotonic, slightly distorted voice of a Stormtrooper sounded behind them. When they turned around, they came face-to-mask with two troopers, both of the bucket-heads at least a foot and a half taller than them with their blasters held tightly in their hands, clearly on show as an intimidation tactic.

Leia’s heart started hammering in her chest and she silently admonished herself for letting her guard down so much that she’d let two Stormtroopers creep up behind. They were supposed to blend in and yet they’d managed to make themselves stand out.

“We’re too young to carry around identification.” Leia lied, praying these two troopers would buy it. With their smaller stature and petite build, the twins were often mistaken for younger than their actual years and for the first time Leia was actually happy about that fact.

Except the Stormtroopers didn’t buy it.

“Aren’t you about fifteen or sixteen, kid?” The disbelief was evident in the trooper on the left’s tone, their blaster raising a fraction in a menacing way.

Leia cringed. “No?”

The trooper on the right reached out a gloved hand and gripped Luke’s forearm in a vice grip, making the boy’s eyes widen with fear. “Either you hand over your identification immediately or we take you in. Your choice, kid.”

Luke tried to tug out of the Stormtrooper’s grip but the bucket-head just held on tighter. “We told you! We don't have identification!” He let out a little groan, feeling a bruise grow on his arm.

“You know the law,” the trooper on the left raised their blaster at Leia, tilting it slightly to indicate that she start walking in the direction ahead. “No identification then we take you in.”

“We’re just kids!” Luke yelped as the Stormtrooper started to drag him in what he guessed was the direction of some sort of jail.

“And I’m meant to care about that?” One of the troopers pushed their blaster into Leia’s back, keeping her moving with the barrel of the weapon.

Leia felt her anger flare, her fists clenching by her sides as the blaster pushed her onwards. “This is unjust and cruel!”

“You were the ones loitering, kid. We don’t make the laws, we just enforce them.”

Luke spluttered, giving the trooper that was dragging him a dirty look. “We weren’t loitering! We were looking at the market!”

The trooper on the left looked at the one on the right, a sneer to their tone. “Did you think they were loitering or browsing?”

The trooper on the right snickered, their voice cold when they replied. “Oh, loitering most definitely.”

Leia’s anger bubbled over, her teeth baring. A deep feeling of unfairness grew in the pit of her stomach, making her clenched fists threaten to hit out. It was obvious the Stormtroopers had been bored and the twins were just victims of their need to concoct a situation in order to make their day more eventful.

The born-Politician inside of her stirred and Leia found herself unable to hold her tongue. “You can’t do this! You have no grounds to arrest us!”

But the troopers didn’t care and the blaster was pushed more deeply into Leia’s back. “You show us your identification and we’ll let you go.”

 _‘What are we going to do?’_ Luke stressed over their bond, his eyes meeting Leia’s for a second with panic. _‘Obi-Wan is going to be so mad!’_

There wasn’t much they could do but Leia knew the last thing they needed to happen was be arrested. Given what Obi-Wan had said about the Grand Moff who governed this planet, whatever fate sat before them, it would not be pleasant. No doubt the troopers would create false charges and paint the twins as criminals to cover up their unjust arrest— and who would argue in Luke and Leia’s defence once they identified them as two high-profile Rebels?

The plan that formed in Leia’s mind was not carefully thought out in any way. _‘When I count to three, start running!’_

Luke faltered for a second, making the trooper holding his arm roughly drag him forwards. _‘What? Leia what are you planning?!’_

_‘One . . .’_

_‘No Leia, let’s think this out!’_

_‘Two . . .’_

_‘Are you sure whatever you’ve planned is going to work?’_

_‘Three!_

Leia took a second to surround herself with the Force, her connection far stronger since her time training on Dagobah. She thought of everything Yoda had taught her, letting the Force flow around her and breathing it in as if it were air filling her lungs. And then as easily as stretching an elastic band, she drew the Force in closer, letting it build up pressure. In one swift movement she let the elastic band go and the Force blew out, like a heavy wind extracting from her and pushing the Stormtroopers backwards.

The troopers fell to the floor, their blasters tumbling away and they groaned, rolling on the ground several metres from where Luke and Leia remained standing. The Force Leia had sent out had been strong, enough to make the bucket-heads hit the ground hard.

Neither of them hesitated as they started sprinting, weaving in and out of the stunned Askajians and the market stalls that had been set up. Sand was kicked up by their feet as they ran, their chests pounding as they heard the tell-tale signs of heavy armour hitting the ground behind them. The troopers had stood up by now, chasing after the twins with all the intent to kill once they’d been captured.

“Jedi Scum!” One yelled and Leia screamed when a blaster bolt hit the edge of a stall she’d ducked between. There were a few screams from the crowd and despite the twins dodging the innocent bystanders, the Stormtroopers shoved people out of the way and threw them to the ground in the chase for Luke and Leia.

Askaj was rather deserted and whilst there were several huts and houses, they were sparse with large distances between them. With hardly anywhere to hide, the twins knew they’d need to be smart in order to avoid the Stormtroopers chasing behind. Blaster bolts were being sent out, hitting the ground and the walls of huts with just mere inches of distance from them.

And then Luke grabbed Leia’s arm, taking a sharp right and moving her down a dingy ally. To where there was a dead end up ahead.

“Oh great, we’re dead,” Leia rolled her eyes, her heart hammering in her chest as the sound of the troopers got closer and closer. With nowhere to run, they’d be shot on sight.

“Not today,” Luke shook his head, pointing to the flat roof up above them. It was quite a jump, with at least three stories of height to it, and would need a lot of concentration in order to make but it was the only choice they had.

They’d just made the landing on the roof, having used the Force to accentuate their jump, when the troopers turned the corner of the ally with their blasters raised. Sinking down onto the roof, flattening their bodies and trying to stay out of sight, the twins watched as the Stormtroopers paused.

“Where’d they go?!”

“Are you sure they turned this way?”

“I saw them! They turned right down here!”

“Well, they couldn’t have just vanished! They have to be around here somewhere!”

“Maybe they used some of their voodoo powers?” The trooper that spoke actually sounded a little scared. Their blaster was still raised despite the only target in front of them being a dead-end and a few piles of rubbish.

“Jedi can’t just turn themselves invisible!”

“And how would you know? When’s the last time you ever saw a Jedi, huh?”

The troopers continued to bicker, their argument getting more heated when Luke tapped Leia on the shoulder, gesturing to behind them. It took a brief shuffle to reach the other end of the flat roof, neither of them wanting to stand up in case the Stormtroopers looked up and noticed them, before they gathered the Force to land gently on the other side. With the troopers still in the ally, the twins were able to run back the way they’d came without any chase being involved.

They’d just reached the market place once more when a familiar tug on their minds told them that Obi-Wan had finished scouting out information. A few odd looks were sent their way by the Askajians who’d witnessed the shuffle between them and the troopers but no further attention was drawn to them as they quickly made their way back to the fuel dock where the ship and Obi-Wan stood waiting.

That was another thing Askaj had over Tatooine: the people tended to mind their own buisness. There were no drunkards or criminals lying around, waiting to receive a payday for handing in those evading the Imperial eye.

“Why do you two look as if you’ve just run a marathon?” Obi-Wan quirked an eyebrow up at Luke and Leia’s disheveled appearances. Their hair was askew, their clothes dusty from laying on the roof and their cheeks were a bright pink colour. It didn’t take use of the Force for the elder man to realise that despite his warnings, the twins had managed to find trouble.

But they were here now and in one piece so Obi-Wan decided that perhaps it was best he not hear the whole detailed truth about whatever mess they’d ended up in. Sometimes ignorance truly was bliss.

“No reason,” Luke shrugged as they boarded the ship and Obi-Wan didn’t push further. “Did you find out the Rebellion’s location?”

Obi-Wan just hummed as he entered the cockpit, pressing a few buttons to get the ship warming up. “Yes, I managed to start a conversation with a rather drunk pilot who after a little coaxing and dare I say, Force manipulation, told me that the Rebellion had set up their next base on a moon in the Model sector.”

Leia sat back down in the seat she’d occupied earlier, crossing her arms. “I hope they’ve chosen a far more pleasant location than Hoth this time.”

Obi-Wan chuckled, taking a seat in the co-pilot chair as the ship came to life. “Oh yes, I think you’ll find Endor far more delightful.” He imputed the location of the moon in the navi-computer and when Leia leaned forward to read the destination time, she realised it was only a few hours in the hyperspace before they’d arrive.

“Uh, Obi-Wan?” Luke frowned, gesturing to the co-pilot seat the man was now sitting in. Luke had been sitting there before they’d landed and he couldn’t help but feel confused at his seat being taken.

“Don’t tell me that after all your whining on the way over that you don’t want to fly this time around?” The elder man gave Luke knowing look, a small smile growing on his face when the realisation dawned on Luke and the boy let out an excited yell. Even Leia couldn’t refrain from smiling at her brother’s childish excitement— he was acting as if Christmas had come early.

“You’re really letting me fly?” Luke sounded full of disbelief even as he sat down in the pilot seat, his fingers twitching with pure happiness at the opportunity.

Obi-Wan nodded in a knowing way. “I have full confidence you’ll amaze me with your abilities.”

Luke let out a whoop, grabbing the controls and wasting no time in shooting away from the planet into the coldness of space. And despite how Obi-Wan’s hand gripped the edge of his seat, his knuckles turning white, as Luke put a little bit more speed into the take-off than the elder man would’ve liked, both Luke and Leia could feel his pride as if it were a lightbulb shining over them. All their lives Obi-Wan had encouraged Luke’s dreams about flying, telling him story after story about their father’s daring antics and it had never been a secret that Luke Skywalker had taken after his father when it came to being a speed-freak. Even Leia had inherited the Skywalker tendency to favour speed.

And as Obi-Wan watched sixteen year old Luke fly the speeder as if it came as naturally to him as breathing (which, in a way, it did), he couldn’t help but remember sixteen year old Anakin. Both father and son had the same look of glee that only flying could bring.

They were just about to enter hyperspace when Leia remembered the little girl they’d met on Askaj. She could picture the girl’s smile and the way she’d pointed up at Leia with a kindness in her eyes, repeating a word that Leia had been unable to understand. “Obi-Wan, do you know what Yarna means in the Askaj native tongue?”

Obi-Wan gave Leia a confused look, one of his eyebrows raising up slightly. “Why do you ask?”

“A little girl on the surface kept pointing at me and saying Yarna, but neither Luke or I know what she was trying to say.”

At her words, Obi-Wan smiled. “I believe she was offering you a compliment. Yarna means pretty.”

“Oh,” Leia paused for a second, feeling the tug of hyperspace as the stars outside the view-screen became a beautiful blur of white and blue. After so many hyperspace jumps, the sight was becoming rather familiar and Leia found a sense of peace wash over her as the light become more large blur of bluish colour.

A smile warmed Leia’s face as she leaned back in her seat. There would always be darkness in the Galaxy but with little acts of kindness, light would forever remain supreme. She was starting to truly believe that now.

 _Yarna,_ Leia hummed to herself. The smile never left her face.

* * *

Endor, as it turns out, was just as delightful as Obi-Wan promised it would be. It was a small moon with a forest terrain; the trees were a vivid green colour and unlike Dagobah, there were no death-trap vines nor patches of murky water laying around. It seemed to be surrounded by ferns and the air far cleaner than what they’d been breathing on the swamp planet.

Obi-Wan paused at the bottom of the ship’s ramp, taking a moment to just breathe in the smell of fresh air that he’d never realised he’d missed so much. The past six years on Dagobah, breathing in the murky smell that had permanently lived in the air, had led him to believe that such a freshness could never exist again.

But exist it did and it filled Obi-Wan’s lungs, clearing his mind.

“Have you been to Endor before?” Luke asked as he stood by Obi-Wan’s side. Leia was still inside the ship, powering up Threepio and Artoo from their charging stations.

“Once,” Obi-Wan hummed. “Many decades ago now, back when I was a Padawan.”

“Is there anything we should be watching out for?”

“Not really, if my memory serves me correctly then Endor always has been rather peaceful. But I’d keep an eye open for any Ewoks.”

Luke raised an eyebrow, a smirk pulling his lips up. His sister had used to own an Ewok toy when they’d been young children, the plush teddy had been her most prized possession before the beginnings of adolescence had kicked in. “You mean the small, teddybear-like creatures? Surely, we don’t have to worry about them.”

“They may look cuddly but they’re feisty,” Obi-Wan patted Luke’s shoulder with a look of pure knowledge. “I would’ve thought you’d have learnt by now to never underestimate something based purely on outward appearances.”

Master Yoda came to Luke’s mind, the faint tingle of grief making him look down at the ferns on the ground. He recalled the Jedi Master’s excellence and wisdom, knowing it could never be matched. It was odd to Luke that whilst the death of Yoda still hurt, it wasn’t the kind of hurt he was used to when left to grieve over a lost one. There had been no pain on Yoda’s part, no feeling of the Jedi having been snatched too soon and there was no one to blame for his passing.

“Oh I am so glad that we’re finally somewhere pleasant!” Threepio’s ramblings cut into Luke’s thoughts and he turned his head to see the golden droid making his way down the ramp as if he were walking free from prison. “Another day in that swamp and I think my circuits would’ve eroded away!”

“Is Endor more to your liking Threepio?” Luke snickered at the protocol droid’s attitude but Threepio seemed to miss Luke’s teasing tone.

“Oh yes, very much so Master Luke!”

Artoo rolled down the ship’s ramp, Leia right behind him, and let out a string of beeps and whistles. His binary made Threepio bristle and the twins realised it had been quite a long time since they’d heard their droids argue. “How dare you be so rude Artoo! You hated Dagobah just as much as I! I do believe it was you who called the planet a dingy, dirty—“

Artoo let out a screech, forcing Threepio to stop. Leia just rolled her eyes at their antics. It was clear Dagobah had been no-one’s first choice of a planet to settle on.

Obi-Wan let out a light chuckle, a fond look in his eye. “I’d almost forgotten about the numerous headaches I used to receive listening to you two bicker.” He turned to the twins. “You never did tell me how your parents’ droids ended up in your company?”

They started to walk off into the forest, leaving their ship behind as they went in search of the Rebellion. They could sense that the base was nearby so the decision had been made to enter via foot, rather than possibly cause alarm by attempting to land a ship the Rebellion wouldn’t recognise. With the last three bases having been discovered by the Empire and one being infiltrated by a spy, the twins knew that trying to land without any access codes would only cause trouble.

Leia shrugged, thinking back to the first moment she’d met Artoo and Threepio. Her life had just been turned upside down and everything had seemed so bleak. The attack from the Inquisitor had left her reeling in shock and despite the pain that had already been pooling in her heart, Bail’s death had still not felt real.

Looking back on it now, Leia realised that whilst she’d lost something that day, she’d also gained two very important people to her family. “They used to belong to Captain Antilles. They were on his ship when I escaped Alderaan after the Palace attack.”

Artoo let out a few beeps, making Leia smile when she translated his words to something along the lines of: _and we’ve been inseparable ever since._

“Yes,” Obi-Wan nodded, looking a little remorseful. “I recall that they went to Bail’s care after your mother died.”

Luke kicked at the ground by his feet. “How come you didn’t take them with you when you decided to raise us?”

“Trying to raise and hide two Force-Sensitive children whilst being a well-known Jedi was hard enough without adding in two droids that your father would recognise instantly if he ever caught wind of them.”

Luke had to admit that Obi-Wan had a point yet a small part of him still wished that the droids had been there during his childhood. He could only imagine what sort of trouble they would have gotten into with Artoo by their side.

They kept walking through the forest, heading in the direction that Obi-Wan was certain would lead to the Rebel base. Now in the fresh air, Dagobah’s swampy plains just a memory, they were all starting to realise just how filthy they were. Grime coated their bodies, the twins’ flight-suits were more grey than orange and the desire for a shower was overwhelming. The closer they seemed to get to the base, the more they wanted to just take off at a run and jump into the hot water that awaited them.

“How much longer?” Luke whined, not even receiving an eye-roll from Leia at his tone.

“I do believe we must be close Master Luke,” Threepio piped up, walking a little behind Obi-Wan with Artoo at his heels. The astromech droid beeped out a questioning: _how do you know?_ “Because, you unobservant waste of parts, the trees have been marked as a means of creating a trail!”

Leia looked to where Threepio seemed to be pointing, his arms only being able to raise up a tiny fraction— she made a mental note to deep clean and oil whatever joints Threepio (and Artoo) needed when they finally got a free moment— and spotted the mark on a nearby tree. It was just a simple cut but it was too high up to have been made by the infamously small Ewoks native to Endor. It had also clearly been cut by a knife, judging from the way the wood had been chipped and left splintered.

“I do sense we are close,” Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a moment, seeming to confirm that fact by reaching out with the Force. Even Leia could feel it; the further they walked into the forest, the more she could feel the hum of life up ahead.

Luke started to pick up speed the second he felt the evidence of the Rebellion as well.

“Oh I do implore you to be careful Master Luke!” Threepio’s nervousness caused alarm bells to go off in Obi-Wan’s head and he seemed to catch on to what the droid meant a second before it happened.

“Luke! Leia!” He used the Force to enhance his speed, hoping to stop the twins before they took that one extra step. But he was just an inch away, the words “It’s a trap,” sliding off his tongue when Luke took that fateful next step and set off the booby-trap covered by twigs and ferns.

The next few seconds were a mingle of screams and grunts as a net the size of three Banthas put together pulled up off the ground and entrapped Luke, Leia and Obi-Wan in its hold. It hung several feet off the ground, a thick rope attached to a tree being what suspended them in the air. The net began to gently rock as all three of the prisoners squirmed, having ended up in one uncomfortable heap at the bottom.

“Luke! You’re sitting on me!” Leia groaned, trying to push her brother away despite her right elbow being squished by Obi-Wan’s thigh. Every part of her body ached at the rough landing of the trap being triggered; the net was digging uncomfortably into her back and bruises were beginning to form from flailing limbs crashing onto her on the way down.

Luke just made an indistinct noise, stuck between a groan and a grunt, as he tried to half-roll away. But with how tight the net had been pulled, they had no choice but to remain as one massive pile of bodies, limbs intertwined. Artoo beeped from the ground whilst Threepio went off on a tirade on how he’d tried to warn them but no one had listened.

Obi-Wan managed to free his left arm from where it had become a pillow under Luke’s neck, rubbing the side of his face where he’d taken an elbow to the cheek.

“There’s never a dull moment with you two, is there?” He hummed, unable to stop the dryness creeping into his voice. At times like now, Obi-Wan really felt his age. He was about to suggest that the twins remain as still as possible whilst he tried to reach for his lightsaber when a voice off into the distance spoke before him.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

Luke and Leia’s eyes instantly brightened and despite their predicament, there was only joy in their voices. “Ahsoka!”

* * *

The feeling of worry was something Ahsoka was all too familiar with in life. Galactic Civil War was all she’d ever really known; whether the fighting be between the Empire or the Separatists, Ahsoka had lived the majority of her life in a time of Galactic unrest.

And with the constant fighting, came the constant worry. From a young age, Ahsoka had always been aware that those by her side may not make it back. Friends she laughed with in the morning may be one with the Force by night. Her Master, as strong and as brave as she’d always known him to be, was not truly indestructible and Ahsoka had always worried about one of his reckless stunts backfiring.

Whenever Ahsoka looked back on her life— not that she did it very often— she found that she often broke down the chapters of her life into parts. Before she left the Jedi, after she left the Jedi. Before the Purge, after the Purge. Before the Empire, after the Empire.

And now Ahsoka found her life broken down into a new chapter: before she found the twins and after she found the twins.

It was odd, she’d only known Luke and Leia for a few short months— and known who they were the children of for even less time than that— but already they’d shaped themselves into a large part of Ahsoka’s life. But then again, maybe there was nothing odd about it. And just like how Ahsoka had used to worry for Anakin, she now worried for his children.

It seemed like both a blessing and a curse that Luke and Leia Skywalker had inherited their parents’ combined problematic trait of running headfirst into a situation before thinking it through. (Padme may have been more cautious and rational than Anakin but she’d never been known to run and hide when put into a situation she really should not be involved in. After all, she’d been the only Senator surrounded by Jedi in the Geonosian battlefield that had kickstarted the Clone Wars.)

And where Ahsoka would usually encourage the twins’ impulsive behaviour, knowing that (to a degree) it had always been a cause of Anakin’s victories during the War and to try to curb their Skywalker traits would only lead to more trouble, for the past two weeks she’d changed her stance. Worry had been all Ahsoka had felt the past two weeks, the unanswered question of _where had Luke and Leia gone?_ , being a key factor for the hours of lost sleep she’d amassed.

The news of the Imperial attack upon the Hoth base had come hours after the evacuation. The mission Ahsoka and Rex had been sent on had been a simple recon-intelligence meet up with a Rebel spy that had infiltrated the ranks of the Empire. After so many years of the routine information-passing in seedy bars on unpopulated moons, Ahsoka had feared nothing.

But had she known what had been about to occur on Hoth hours after their departure, Ahsoka never would have left.

It had taken the Rebellion four days to scout and decide upon Endor as their next location of their base. Populated only by Ewoks and out of the Empire’s eye, no one had complained about the forest moon considering the ice-ball of their last home.

From what Ahsoka had heard over the secured comm channels the Rebellion had set up, the losses on Hoth had been a bigger blow than anyone would like to admit. Good men and women had fallen and the Empire had invaded with no intent to take prisoners. All of the Rebels who had managed to evacuate in time had gone to the rendezvous point a few systems over before safely making it to Endor, ready to start anew.

But when Ahsoka and Rex had arrived on the moon, Luke and Leia had been nowhere to be seen.

Three years of War: three years of fighting, of watching brothers fall down one by one, of sitting in the mess hall feeling the loss of the empty chair beside him, knowing that a proper goodbye was never given and the next day was never guaranteed; Ahsoka had never seen Rex so distraught at the possibility of Luke and Leia having been left in the rubble of Echo Base.

Ahsoka worried— of course she did— but she knew they were alive. They didn’t have a bond in the way Ahsoka had once had with Anakin, nor even with Master Kenobi, but she seemed to just _know_ that they were alive. Believing them to be safe might have been more on wishful thinking but there had been no doubt in Ahsoka’s mind that Luke and Leia had made it off Hoth.

(Rex had calmed down once she’d promised him that but the worry had remained and Ahsoka was starting to believe that it would never go away, even once the twins came back.)

Two weeks was a long time to worry about the fate of those you care about and Ahsoka had found the days seemed to drag, her mind always lightyears away and her dreams filled with what-ifs and nightmarish endings that had her forgo sleep entirely. But Ahsoka had learnt long ago that the best way to battle never-ending worry was to keep busy. So that was what she’d done. And there was never a quiet day with the Rebel Alliance— between tactical meetings, rendezvous with spies and setting up traps around the perimeter of the base to keep any Imperial scouts away, Ahsoka had combatted her worry with unrelenting energy.

And then, finally, her worry was replaced by relief.

“Ahsoka!”

She’d had her suspicions a few hours ago when there had been a ripple in the Force, something bright having entered Endor atmosphere. That suspicion had turned to hope when her sense of the bright presences had grown stronger and stronger. But Ahsoka had swallowed down that hope, reminding herself that whilst hope was always a good thing to have, the disappointment could be lethal. And then an alarm had sounded to let the Rebels know one of their traps had been set off and Ahsoka had volunteered to go investigate and bring in any possible threat.

Cut to her looking up at the bundle of limbs that were Luke and Leia Skywalker— and some old man that Ahsoka didn’t pay much attention to, her eyes only on the twins— and the hand that had been squeezing her heart a little tighter every day for two weeks, suddenly let go.

It was so Skywalkerly typical of Luke and Leia to disappear for a brief period of time, only to make their grand reappearance as prey to a trap that Ahsoka herself had set.

Artoo rolled up beside Ahsoka’s feet, beeping happily at the familiar face and the Togruta ignored Threepio’s ramblings at how his helpful comments were always ignored. She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling a smirk creep up on her face. “How’s it hanging, Skyguy Juniors?”

Leia rolled her eyes, her left cheek now pressed against the rope of the net, looking very uncomfortable. “Oh very funny Ahsoka, I can see this is absolutely hilarious to you. Can you get us down?”

Maybe it was because she’d worried about them endlessly for two weeks, having never received one call to let her know they were safe or maybe because their current behaviour reminded Ahsoka so much of Anakin’s own brainless misfortune, but, either way, Ahsoka just smirked even more. “You mean to say that the great Luke and Leia Skywalker have been outwitted by a mere boobytrap?” She feigned a gasp, making the whole show a little too dramatic.

Leia just rolled her eyes again but when Luke spoke up, there was a pleading whine to his tone. “Ahsoka! Please! Leia’s knee is digging into my hip!”

His sister made an angry sound, turning her head as much as she could in Luke’s direction. “You’re practically squishing me you nerfherder!”

There was a slight groan from the third person inside the net and a startlingly familiar voice ushered a chastisement. They spoke in the sort of exhausted tone one only used when they’d repeated the same sentiment to deaf ears a million times before. “What have we talked about with the name calling?”

Leia sighed like a child who’d been caught red-handed with their fingers inside the cookie jar. “Not to do it.”

“Do we need to have that talk again?” It startled Ahsoka how parent-like the third voice seemed to sound, like they knew what they were doing and had been doing it for years now. She couldn’t see the man’s face, he was too obstructed by the flailing limbs of the twins and all she could see was white hair. Yet there was something about him . . . Ahsoka just couldn’t place her finger on the Coruscanti accent that told her she _knew_ who this man was.

For all the months Ahsoka had known her, Leia had been a troublemaker through and through. Whether because she couldn’t curb her snappy tongue or because she’d inherited too much of Anakin’s genes, Leia had never been one to take orders and trying to rein in her sometimes unruly behaviour had proven difficult. Ahsoka had quickly learnt that nine times out of ten, when the twins were involved in some troublesome antics, Leia was the mastermind behind it all.

Yet she seemed to answer to whoever this man was. His voice was the only water that could dampen Leia’s fire.

Leia quickly shook her head, despite how it mussed up the braids on the back of her head. “No, I’ve learnt my lesson! No lecture necessary!”

“Good.”

“Ahsoka,” Luke grumbled once more, his blue eyes looking down at the Togruta with silent pleading. “Please get us down.”

If Luke hadn’t sounded so glum, Ahsoka would have used the Force to gently undo the rope from the tree so the trap could be reset once again. But Luke’s face had been scrunched up with pain and so Ahsoka wasted no time in pulling out her lightsaber and throwing it at the top of the net, a few inches above the heads of the twins and the mystery man. Her lightsaber came back like a boomerang, followed by the screams of Leia and Luke before a loud thud echoed around them.

The drop had only been a few metres but Ahsoka still felt guilt at the lack of warning and the fact their fall hadn’t been cushioned.

Leia rolled onto her back, frowning up at Ahsoka with a look that was all Anakin. “A little warning next time would be nice!”

“I don’t want there to be a next time,” Luke groaned, trying to kick his leg out of the excess of netting that still entrapped him.

“Oh I do hope you won’t be needing medical attention Master Luke, Mistress Leia! I have not been properly programmed with human medical needs so I shan’t be much help!” Threepio started stressing, sounding two sentences away from blowing one of his circuits.

As Leia sat up, she shook her head in his direction. It still seemed so unbelievable that this worrisome droid had been made by the man who now wore a black mask and killed innocents for a living. “We’ll be fine Threepio,” Artoo came rolling to her side, beeping low and sadly. “I promise.”

There was a gruffer groan from Obi-Wan’s direction and the twins turned to see the man standing up on slightly shakier legs, his face paler than normal and the hint of a bruise on his cheek. “I am getting much too old for this,” he hummed, brushing off any residue dirt on his Jedi robes.

There was silence for a second, broken only by Ahsoka’s shocked whisper. Her eyes were wide, much like they had been when she’d discovered who Luke and Leia’s parents had been. “Obi-Wan?”

Obi-Wan’s face, in return, softened and a small smile lifted up his lips. “Hello Ahsoka, its been a while."


	37. Endor

Ahsoka had never been as close to Master Kenobi as she had been to Anakin— but that didn’t mean that they hadn’t been close. He’d never been her primary teacher but Ahsoka had learnt a lot from Obi-Wan and until things had turned sour, he’d been a source of admiration to her.

She could remember the countless hours she spent worrying about him when going into battle and how much she knew that his death would devastate her Master. They’d been a team, the three of them: Grandmaster, Master and Padawan. Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka.

(“ _We’ll be fine as long as we stay together.”)_

But then everything had fallen apart and Ahsoka had found herself questioning everything she’d once known.

( _“So that’s it? You’re going to abandon Bo-Katan and her people?”_

_“Ahsoka, surely you understand this is a pivotal moment in the Clone Wars? The heart of the Republic is under attack!”_

_“I understand that, as usual, you’re playing politics. This is why the people have lost faith in the Jedi. I had too until I was reminded of what the Order means to people who truly need us.”_

_“Right now, people on Coruscant need us.”_

_“No. The Chancellor needs you.”_

_“That’s not fair.”_

_“I’m not trying to be.”)_

Things with Obi-Wan had been left difficult, to put it mildly. He’d been someone she’d trusted with her life, whose back she’d had during the War and yet . . . _“It is the Council’s opinion that Padawan Ahsoka Tano has committed sedition against the Republic, and thus, will be expelled from the Jedi Order”_ . . . when she’d needed his support the most, he’d given her nothing. At least with Anakin, Ahsoka had known how hard he’d fought to clear her name. He’d let her know, through actions and not words, how much he cared for her whilst Obi-Wan’s impassiveness had been heartbreaking.

It was something Ahsoka had never forgotten.

And something she was sure Anakin had never forgotten either.

But just because their relationship had been left on rocky terms ( _“That’s not fair”; “I’m not trying to be”_ ), it didn’t mean that Ahsoka hadn’t scoured the Holonet for hours after the Jedi Purge, looking again and again for any sign of Obi-Wan’s name or a hint that he could still be alive. Yet every time she searched, every time her hopes were raised, she’d been met with another dead-end. All she’d been able to find was a transmission from Master Kenobi warning other Jedi to stay away from the Temple but whether he’d survived after making the message, Ahsoka had been none the wiser.

After the Jedi Purge, all Ahsoka had been left with was a burning pit of pain in her chest and a jumble of good and bad memories about the people she’d lost, all mingled into one.

And if Ahsoka was being honest with herself, she’d never expected to see Master Kenobi again.

“Obi-Wan?”

“Hello Ahsoka, its been a while.”

Yet here he was. It had been sixteen years since they’d last lain eyes on each other (in person, at least) and neither of them were the same people who’d stood on that Star Destroyer, completely unaware that their lives had been only days away from being blown apart. They were older now, wiser . . . sadder.

Obi-Wan’s hair had gone white, his beard having followed suit and when Ahsoka looked carefully, she could see a few speckles of grey mixed in. He looked wearier now, paler than she’d ever seen him as if he’d not seen sunlight for a while and it was clear that the recent years had not been kind to him. But his eyes were the same greyish-blue and when he smiled, it reminded Ahsoka of the better memories she had of him.

“I see you’ve gotten old.”

Her comment elicited a small laugh from Obi-Wan’s lips and he nodded with god humour. “It happens to the best of us.”

There was an awkward pause, the silence between them feeling thick. Ahsoka didn’t really know how to react or what to say— she was glad that Obi-Wan was alive, of course she was, but nothing had really changed between them. Perhaps, had he and Anakin come to Mandalore sixteen years ago, having never played their part in the Emperor’s master plan, they would’ve had time to reconcile and put the ghosts of their broken past behind them.

(For a second, Ahsoka found herself day-dreaming about a life she’d been cheated out of: the three of them, the perfect trio, would’ve gone to Mandalore and they would’ve caught Maul. With Anakin lightyears from the Sith, he never would’ve fallen and Maul could’ve completed his plan of drawing in Kenobi so he could warn him about all the horrors that would’ve been awaiting them when they’d arrived home. The Sith would’ve fallen with Ahsoka and Obi-Wan by Anakin’s side and the Jedi would’ve survived. The twins would’ve been born into a time of peace, not destruction. Perhaps Ahsoka would’ve even rejoined the Order.)

But that hadn't been what had happened. Obi-Wan had not come to Mandalore. He’d not been by Anakin’s side whilst the Sith had manipulated him. The Empire had risen, the Jedi had fallen and sixteen years on, Ahsoka didn’t know where she stood with Obi-Wan anymore. Were they friends? Old acquaintances? At one point in her life, she’d considered Obi-Wan as family . . . perhaps if her day-dream had actually played out, she could’ve seen him as such again.

“This is the reason for why we disappeared,” Luke decided to pipe up, hating how awkwardly quiet it had gotten. “We found Obi-Wan!”

Ahsoka just nodded, “So I see.”

( _“That’s not fair.”_

_“I’m not trying to be.”)_

“I know we have much to talk about Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan let out a long sigh, his weariness seeming to grow. “There is much that needs to be said between us. And much I would like to apologise for. But all of that can wait; right now, I believe it is time I join the Rebellion you so bravely fight for.”

“And to finally get a much-needed shower,” Leia mumbled under her breath.

Obi-Wan chuckled. “And that too.”

Ahsoka wasn’t sure if the air would ever be properly cleared between her and Obi-Wan— maybe some cracks were too big to be fixed? And whilst Ahsoka knew that her expulsion had not been Obi-Wan’s fault entirely, he’d still held a seat on that Council and stood by whilst the order had made the decision for her to be kicked out. Had he fought for her? Had he tried to argue her innocence? Or had he done what most of the Master’s had and actually believed she could be capable of such unnecessary violence?

She’d never had the time to ask before.

Ahsoka inclined her head, letting all the leftover bitterness ebb away into the Force. “On behalf of the Rebellion, we welcome you Master Kenobi. We know a true asset when we see one.”

With Obi-Wan on their side, Ahsoka felt as if their chances of victory had doubled.

* * *

Until now, Leia had never truly appreciated the sentiment of a phrase Bail had told her years ago: _never underestimate the power of a nice, hot shower._ He’d said it once when Leia had been fresh on the Princess scene, taking all her new luxuries on board with little appreciation. His words had gone over her head then but now Leia found herself discovering the true wisdom behind his statement.

(It seemed that, only after his death, was Leia truly finding the appreciation for all Bail had taught her during her years on Alderaan.)

They’d been on Endor for a few hours now, having rejoined the ranks of the Rebellion with a warm welcome, and still the novelty of being able to shower had not worn off.

The water continued to fall down onto Leia’s head, draining away the last remnants of whatever dirt and grime she’d picked up on Dagobah. With her only outfit having been a bright orange, sweaty flight-suit for two weeks, Leia felt refreshed every time she put her head under the water and rid herself of the swamp planet’s stench.

If she had her way— which she couldn’t with Obi-Wan marching around, a lecture always on the tip of his tongue— she would spend all hours of the day under the warm water. There was something the sound of the shower’s sprays and the warm water rolling down her back that Leia just felt comforting. Peaceful. It was like—

A loud bang sounded on the refresher door and Leia knew, without a doubt, it was Luke on the other side. Leave it to her brother to break her peace.

‘ _Go away!’_ She hissed over their bond, putting her head under the water again in an effort to block Luke out.

‘ _But Leia it’s time for training! You promised Obi-Wan you’d be there!’_ Luke’s words came out rushed with a mingled sense of excitement; Leia could picture him on the other side of the refresher door, bouncing on his heels as he waited for her.

It took Leia another minute to gather the strength to turn off the shower. All she’d wanted was a nice, long, hot shower and surround herself with the peace that only a shower could bring— was that too much to ask for?

According to Luke, yes.

 _‘Don’t be annoyed at me,’_ Luke shot back across their bond as Leia towel-dried her hair and dressed into the clothes the Rebels had given her upon her arrival on Endor. Where the style on Hoth had been thermal clothes and baggy coats, Endor’s forest scenery meant the Rebels now wore camouflage print with Leia dressed in grey trousers and a cream vest. ‘ _You did make the promise to Obi-Wan!’_

Leia sighed, Luke was right (not that she’d ever say that out-loud), she _had_ made a promise to Obi-Wan. A promise she now regretted.

After leaving Dagobah behind, Leia had almost assumed that her training had come to an end. She’d never wanted to be a Jedi in the first place and training during those two weeks had been more about appeasing Obi-Wan than being something she’d actually wanted. And with Yoda now gone, she’d assumed just assumed that her Jedi journey would have met its end as well.

But as Obi-Wan had pointed out before letting the twins freshen up, she’d been wrong (again, Leia would never admit that out-loud). As Obi-Wan had said: “ _there is much you need to learn still Leia; you are still not yet in control of the Force"._ He’d made her promise that she would continue training and after gentle coaxing, she’d agreed.

Now dressed and ready to go, Leia opened the refresher door to see the scene she’d imagined in her head come to be truth: Luke was bouncing on the balls of his feet, an excited look on his face and he wasted no time in heading towards the exit like a child ready to tear open his presents on Christmas. “Come on, let’s go! We’re already late!”

“Why are you so excited about this?” Leia, unfortunately, did not share her brother’s enthusiasm. Her pace was far slower and from the way her twin kept giving her annoyed glances, Luke did not appreciate her pessimistic attitude.

“Because we’re training again!”

“So?”

“But this time,” Luke leant closer to Leia, whispering in a conspiratorial way. “We’re training with lightsabers.”

His words made Leia pause. Lightsabers? Duelling? Throughout their time on Dagobah, Master Yoda hadn’t even considered bringing lightsaber training into the agenda. Even Ahsoka had shied away from it before the whole spy-kidnapping-Leia incident on Dantooine. The memory of fighting an Inquisitor on Alderaan came to Leia’s mind and she took a second to consider whether she and Luke were ready for their training to progress so much.

“Where did you hear that?” Leia crossed her arms over her chest. Obi-Wan had made no mention of lightsaber training when he’d convinced her to continue on.

“I heard Obi-Wan telling Rex a few minutes ago!”

“You mean you were eavesdropping?”

“So what if I was?” Luke sighed dramatically. “Aren’t you excited?”

And despite herself, Leia was. Being a Jedi wasn’t something high up on her bucket list but even Leia couldn’t deny that learning how to fight with a lightsaber was going to be pretty cool. She’d seen Ahsoka in action before and it had been awe-inspiring.

“Maybe a little,” Leia finally admitted, a small smile creeping up her face as she watched Luke’s eyes flash with more unhidden excitement.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Luke reached out to grab Leia’s arm, giddily half-dragging her in his quest to find Obi-Wan and start their training for the day. “Let’s go!”

* * *

“You sure you’re up for this, kid?”

Leia turned her head to where Rex stood, his posture perfect, as always, and his arms crossed. There was a look of barely-concealed concern on his face, despite his efforts to try and hide it. He’d begun hovering over the twins ever since they’d rejoined the Rebellion, taking on the role of almost-bodyguard, refusing to ever let them out of his sight.

The lightsaber in Leia’s hand suddenly felt very heavy but she nodded nonetheless. “Yeah. Sure. Why not?”

In return, Rex just sighed. He didn’t like this. He knew the Jedi started training young— kriff, Ahsoka had been two years younger than the twins when she’d joined the frontline of a war!— but still, Rex couldn’t help but feel as if lightsaber training was coming too quickly. What if they got hurt? All it took was one quick swing and . . . **_BAM!_** A hand could be lost.

But when Rex had brought his fears up to General Kenobi— or did he just call the man Obi-Wan now?— the former Jedi had just iterated the point that lightsaber training was essential and that he would be there, constantly watching and ready to step in should things go out of control. “ _They need to learn to defend themselves”_ , Obi-Wan had said. And as much as Rex would like to disagree, he knew he couldn’t.

With the clear opponents facing the twins being two lightsaber-wielding Sith, it only made sense that Luke and Leia learn how to duel.

“I just don’t want to see either of you almost lose an eye like your Dad,” Rex finally huffed, trying to shake off some of his anxieties. Kenobi had spent the best half of an hour going over the rules to the twins, drilling in how to’s and how not’s and lecturing them about safety.

 _(“Do not look directly into a lightsaber— Luke I am looking at you for that one”,_ Obi-Wan had said. The boy had just sighed in response, mumbling something about how he’d only done it once.)

“What?” Luke perked up. His enthusiastic behaviour had been slightly dimmed by Obi-Wan’s safety speech. “Dad almost lost an eye? When? How?”

Obi-Wan sighed in a long-suffering way. “You just _had_ to tell them about that didn’t you Rex?”

“How else do you think he got that scar over his right eye?” Rex tried to hide the smug smirk that only appeared when boasting about his old friend. There would never be anyone like Anakin Skywalker— well, except for maybe his children. “He got it in a duel with a Sith.”

Luke’s awe just seemed to grow. “A Sith? No way!”

Rex’s smug smile grew even more.

“I do hope, like in most cases, that you do not take after your father in this sense.” Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, his tone heading towards that of when he started a lecture. “Duelling takes a lot of patience and observation— you have to look at who you’re duelling and make tactile defences depending on their stance for attack.”

Luke rolled his eyes, sighing dramatically. “You really know how to suck the fun out of lightsaber training— you do know that right, Obi-Wan?” He swung Anakin’s old lightsaber around, the blade unlit, making sounds from his mouth as he pretended to slash at the air. All of his excitement at training had been held at bay throughout Obi-Wan’s never-ending safety speech, finally being able to break through once the elder man had stopped.

“Do I have to go over this again?” Obi-Wan didn’t look amused as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Training with a lightsaber isn’t meant to be _fun_ ; duelling is dangerous Luke and I cannot let you start unless you understand the risks.”

‘ _Just say you understand Luke.’_ Leia had to refrain from rolling her eyes. They’d never get to actually switch on their blades if he didn’t at least _pretend_ to understand the risks a lightsaber brought.

“I understand Obi-Wan, I really do! I can’t help but feel excited though!”

The elder man sighed. Anakin had been just the same when he’d first started training with a lightsaber. All his former Padawan had been able to do for the first few days was stare in awe at the brilliant blade he’d been holding, paying no attention to the stances Obi-Wan had tried to teach him.

It seemed Luke was much the same.

“Can we start now?” Leia drawled, feeling her own impatience wear thin. She was no-where near as excited as Luke at the prospect of training but Leia couldn’t help but admit that holding a lightsaber in her hand, knowing she was about to learn how to use it, gave her a sense of adrenaline.

Ahsoka had donated one of her lightsabers for the twins’ to use and Leia couldn’t wait to see the white blade that would produce from it when she flicked on the switch.

“Very well,” Obi-Wan nodded, sounding a little resigned. The twins’ could sense his unease; it had been made very clear that Obi-Wan was only teaching them how to duel because it was necessary for him to do so, not because he wanted to. Even Rex was producing waves of anxiety into the Force, very obviously feeling cautious at the fact Luke and Leia had willingly been given deadly weapons.

“Be careful,” Rex’s gruff voice called out.

Leia couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Did he really think that they were going to impale themselves or something? “You know that we’re older than most Jedi Padawans would’ve been when they began training, right? In fact, I’m pretty sure we’re double the age that _younglings_ would’ve started learning how to hold a lightsaber.”

“Yeah but younglings used training blades,” Rex pointed out with a cocked eyebrow. “I just don’t want to see Luke’s hand dismembered on the floor.”

“Hey! Why would it be _my_ hand?” Luke whined.

Rex just gave him a pointed look. “Out of the two of you, it’s more likely for you to lose a hand, kid.”

Luke looked like he was about to argue when Obi-Wan cleared his throat. He didn’t sound impressed. “That’s enough talk about dismembered limbs. There will be no lost hands during this training session, do you understand? Now, if you’re both ready, I believe we should start.”

The twins nodded, Luke’s nod being more enthusiastic than his sister’s. There was a light in his eye that screamed excitement and Leia could sense his increasing impatience. She was pretty sure that if there were anymore interruptions or drawbacks then Luke would burst on the spot.

“Can we turn the lightsabers on now?” His words came out rushed but Obi-Wan understood them perfectly, giving a resigned nod.

“You may.”

Immediately two blades jumped forth from their respective weapons: one blue, one white. For a second neither twin spoke, their eyes glued to the shining light that had sprung from the lightsabers in their hand. They’d held a lightsaber before but it seemed the novelty never wore off. And with their training session about to start, both Luke and Leia found an added awe that came with the vibrant blades.

With a lightsaber in their hands, they felt invincible.

“Now,” Obi-Wan cleared his throat. “Let’s start.”

* * *

Watching as the twins practised all the lightsaber forms they’d been taught over the past hour, Obi-Wan took a step back. Luke and Leia were double the age to when younglings had first been taught how to properly hold a lightsaber but just like using the Force, it came naturally to them. It hadn’t taken long for either of them to pick up the different forms that Obi-Wan had been teaching and be able to put them into practice.

Although they’d been taught all seven different lightsaber forms, it was becoming very clear that Luke and Leia both favoured Djem So— much like their father before them.

Obi-Wan moved his gaze down from watching the twins to the lightsaber in his hand. It’d been a while since he’d used it; there had been no need for it on Dagobah, par using the light and scaring off the occasional creature that had tried to turn him into its next meal. Even on Naboo Obi-Wan had found no use for it. Raising two Force-sensitive twins whose curiosity knew no bounds, his lightsaber had always been stashed safely away from their prying eyes and twitchy, chubby fingers.

Staring down at the weapon now, Obi-Wan wasn’t sure if he missed or detested the time in his life where his lightsaber had been his life.

Looking back on all the duels of his life, Obi-Wan felt as if he were gathering up the memories of another man. Which in a way, he was. The last time he’d felt peace— real and true, no grief hidden below the surface, peace— had been just after his duel with Grievous. The Separatist leader had been defeated and for the first time in three years, Obi-Wan had felt as if hope had finally been restored to the Galaxy. He’d believed the War would soon end, the Republic would’ve won and the citizens could’ve all rejoiced at the era of tranquility that would’ve followed.

Little had Obi-Wan known that the second he’d brought down General Grievous, his heart having filled with hope that everything would turn out okay, he’d been playing into a scheme set up by the Sith. And that everything he’d believed: the hope, tranquility and vindication . . . it had never arrived.

Anakin had bent his knee to the Sith and Obi-Wan had never known peace again.

“You’ve taught them well.”

Obi-Wan blinked away the haze that had covered his eyes, turning his gaze to where Ahsoka stood stiffly beside him, her hands crossed over her chest and her eyes fixed upon the twins. Her shoulders were tense and Obi-Wan could sense her discomfort at being so close to him.

Things had been awkward between them and ever since they’d been reunited out in the Endor forest earlier that morning, Obi-Wan could count how many times they’d spoken on his hands. Ahsoka tried to avoid his presence at best and when forced to be near him, her attitude was cold and her words clipped.

Not that Obi-Wan really blamed her.

(“ _Tell Anakin—"_

_“I will”.)_

“They’re naturals,” Obi-Wan nodded.

“I see so much of him in them,” Ahsoka’s voice was quiet, as if she were afraid to speak. “I see him when I look at Luke and I hear him when I talk to Leia. It scares me how much they’re like him. What if they . . .”

“They won’t.”

“You don’t know that,” Ahsoka hissed. For the first time, her eyes met Obi-Wan’s and the elder man saw the fear brewing below the surface. “You can’t promise that. I would’ve said the same about Anakin and look where we are now.”

Her words shocked Obi-Wan, his mind feeling momentarily fuzzy as he turned to look at Ahsoka. “You know what happened to Anakin?”

Ahsoka didn’t reply; her lips pulled into a thin line and she kept her eyes on the twins. Her head gave a sharp jerk and Obi-Wan realised this conversation was meant for another time.

“We’re all faced with this decision in life: do we accept the demons inside us or do we fight them? Anakin made his choice.”

“But what if, like Anakin, they make the wrong decision?” Ahsoka’s voice was strained. Her worry was deep and Obi-Wan knew where it stemmed from: previous hurt. Previous loss, betrayal and devastation. If they were to feel it all over again, Obi-Wan knew it would be a blow they’d struggle to recover from.

“They won’t,” he just nodded. _They would never,_ he whispered to himself. _I won’t let them._

Silence surrounded them as they found distraction in watching the twins train. It felt odd to be so close to Ahsoka, a girl who he’d once rushed into battle with and considered as his own Padawan of sorts, given their close friendship. For years Obi-Wan had stressed over whether Ahsoka had survived the Purge or not; technically she’d not been a Jedi at the time of the Jedi Massacre but he’d doubted whether that technicality would matter to the Clones who’d held up their blasters and taken aim at the men and women who’d once been their friends.

Obi-Wan’s eyes made contact with Rex on the opposite side of their make-shift training room but he averted his gaze as quickly as it connected. It went without saying that ever since they’d been reunited several hours earlier, Obi-Wan had been on edge around the Clone.

What had happened sixteen years ago? Why had the Clones done what they did?

Memories of lost friends flashed before Obi-Wan’s eyes. He’d fought beside those men in battle, he’d risked his life several times for the Clones who’d then turned on him as if none of those three years of War had mattered.

(“ _Oh, by the way, I think you’ll be needing this.”_

_“Thank you, Cody. Now let’s get a move on. We’ve got a battle to win here.”)_

Obi-Wan often sat and wondered about his last words to his Commander, Cody. Had he known that those would’ve been his last words, would he have said something different? A thank you, maybe, for all the times they’d had each other’s backs? For always being there when Obi-Wan had needed him?

With War being ripe throughout the Galaxy, Obi-Wan had known that any day, any battle, could’ve separated him from his Clone Commander. But never had he expected to be betrayed by him.

(“ _Blast him!”_ )

It felt like yesterday, and yet like a lifetime ago, when Obi-Wan had fallen from that cliff to what he’d expected to have been his death. The blast had been so sudden, so unexpected, that he’d barely had time to react before the rocks beside him had exploded and he’d found himself tumbling down with the ground and water waiting to greet him below. It hadn’t been until his body had crashed into the water that he’d realised the blast had come from his own troops, from the men he’d considered friends. And if the thousand foot drop into cold water hadn’t been enough to rattle Obi-Wan’s bones, the betrayal of the men he’d fought beside daily for three years had been.

The nagging question of _why_ had been all he could think about as he’d felt momentarily stunned, floating under the water. Why had his troops turned on him? Why would they try and kill him?

And then the deaths had started rolling in.

One by one, Obi-Wan had felt the deaths of his friends seep into the Force, their spirits floating away and a sense of loss and horror had overcome him. He’d stayed under the water until his lungs had ached and the urge to breathe had become so strong that he’d been tempted to just open his mouth and let the water seep in.

The Force had mourned that day and Obi-Wan had mourned with it.

It didn’t help that Rex had the exact same face as Cody and that every time Obi-Wan looked upon him, he was reminded of floating under the water, desperately trying to reach out to Anakin and receiving nothing.

“Hey Ahsoka!” Luke giddy voice broke through Obi-Wan’s thoughts and for a second, when he looked upon the boy, he thought he were seeing sixteen year old Anakin. But then the haze of the past ebbed away and Obi-Wan saw the differences that separated Luke from his father. “Look what Obi-Wan taught us!”

Ahsoka put on an excited smile, giving Luke a look that beamed with pride. Obi-Wan watched as she stepped forward, ready to praise the boy for all his hard work. There was a tenderness to Ahsoka when she addressed the twins and a fierce determination to protect them that Obi-Wan understood perfectly well.

“You’re doing so good, Junior!"

As Obi-Wan watched as Ahsoka offered her own tips and tricks, the twins listening to her with wide eyes, soaking up every word, he tried to pretend that the Empire didn’t exist. The Jedi were still alive, Anakin was still himself and Padme was still in the Senate, fighting for the rights of those who couldn’t.

Here in the Endor forest, Obi-Wan tried to pretend that all was right.

It didn’t last long. _Some pain_ , Obi-Wan decided, _was just too prominent to forget._

* * *

Ahsoka twiddled her thumbs, a cup of cold tea sat before her, untouched and mostly forgotten. The last time she’d checked the time it had been well past midnight but with how the Endor base seemed to be slowly winding down, the number of voices being heard in the corridors diminishing, she guessed it was much later now. Possibly very early in the morning. And yet there was no urge in Ahsoka’s body to take herself to bed.

Her mind kept turning and as Ahsoka sat in the darkness of the deserted canteen, all she could focus on was one thing: Obi-Wan. He was alive. He was here. And Ahsoka didn’t know how to feel about it.

For the better part of the day she’d done her best to avoid his presence. There was a distance between herself and Obi-Wan now, bridged through the events of sixteen years ago and the separation of time. To stand beside him now, Ahsoka almost felt as if she were standing beside a stranger.

It felt weird and she didn’t like it.

“Do you mind if I join you?”

Ahsoka closed her eyes for a second, deliberating whether it would be too rude to reply back “yes” like she so desperately wanted to. Maybe after a good nights sleep she would feel ready for the discussion Obi-Wan was about to broach but whether she liked it or not, the elder man was standing in the entrance way of the canteen and she knew even if she asked him to leave, he wouldn’t go. They needed to talk, Ahsoka knew that, even if she didn’t want to.

Unable to bring herself to talk, Ahsoka jerked her head in a nod and Obi-Wan slowly approached, sitting opposite her with the same air of awkwardness that Ahsoka felt herself.

What were they meant to say? _I’m sorry? I missed you_? None of it seemed to do justice in Ahsoka’s mind. The past had left scars on both of them, some more prominent than others and no matter what, Ahsoka wasn’t sure if all of those scars would ever go away.

Some wounds were so deep that even time couldn’t heal them.

“What tea did you have?” The question that slipped out of Obi-Wan’s lips took Ahsoka off-guard. It was so casual, weaving around the Bantha in the room and it was so kriffing _Obi-Wan_ that Ahsoka couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. She should’ve known that Obi-Wan Kenobi, the man who’d always had tea on hand and refused to end the day without a sip from his favourite beverage, would ask her about the cold cup of tea she’d forgotten she’d poured.

“Chamomile,” Ahsoka eventually choked out, her fingers reaching out to play with the cup before her. The tea inside sloshed around but never so much that it spilled over the edges.

Obi-Wan nodded, giving Ahsoka his seal of improvement. “A wise choice.”

Silence surrounded them for a few minutes, Ahsoka’s attention remaining on the sloshing of the tea inside her cup and Obi-Wan’s eyes staying fixed on the forcibly averted gaze of Ahsoka. With every passing minute the Bantha in the room seemed to grow, soaking up all the air inside the deserted canteen until Ahsoka felt as if it were hard to breathe. The tension was in her lungs, crushing down on her stomach and no matter how hard she tried to distract herself she couldn’t shake away the pain that Obi-Wan’s presence brought her.

“I fear that is time we talk, young one.”

Ahsoka let out a mirthless laugh, her voice sounding hollow. “‘m not so young anymore.”

“No,” Obi-Wan agreed, backtracking on his words. “Neither of us are.”

Ahsoka wanted to argue that neither of them were _that_ old; sure, Obi-Wan’s hair was now grey and her Montrals had grown out but age was still on their side. They were both still capable and agile and if put back out in the field, they’d still have some tricks up their sleeves— but it went without saying that it wasn’t the numbers racking up on their ages that made them old: it was the burdens from their past that made them wearier.

Obi-Wan cleared his throat, seeming to work up the courage before he spoke once again. “So you know what happened to Anakin? You’ve seen what he’s become?”

The pit in Ahsoka’s stomach grew and she desperately wished she were anywhere but here. “Yes.”

“It must’ve been quite a shock.”

 _That’s one way of saying it,_ Ahsoka wanted to say. _An understatement if I’ve ever heard one._ She’d come face-to-mask with the man who’d been like her brother and all Obi-Wan could say to that revelation— to the fact that one of the kindest, most caring people Ahsoka had ever known had sold his soul to darkness and become a monster— was that it “must've been quite a shock”? Ahsoka didn’t know whether to laugh or yell at him.

She opted to remain silent instead.

After a few more minutes of silence, Ahsoka wondered if Obi-Wan regretted approaching her now. Would he leave? Would he ever try to talk to her again? Or would they forever remain as old friends turned acquaintances turned strangers?

Would the space that separated them now ever be fixed?

“You raised the twins.” Ahsoka didn’t know why those words slipped out her mouth but they did and there was nothing she could do to take them back. Her words had been a statement of fact, not a question and as Obi-Wan slowly nodded, she wondered if he was expecting her to ask more about that. When she didn’t, he cleared his throat and spoke instead.

“Ah, yes, I did.”

Ahsoka frowned, arguing with herself about whether she should ask the question that had been bugging her ever since Luke and Leia had revealed the information so blasé-like, as if it had been no big deal. In the end, she lost the argument with herself. “Why?”

Obi-Wan had never been the biggest fan of children; in small doses he could handle them and appreciate the simplicity that came with childhood. He’d always been a great teacher, with lots of patience and understanding, the younglings had loved it when, on the odd occasion, he’d taught a class. But Ahsoka had known that, underneath it all, Obi-Wan had been weary of children. He’d never been one for their impromptu tantrums and tears. Anakin had been nine when Obi-Wan had met him and Ahsoka knew their relationship had been challenging at the start.

For him to have willingly taken the Skywalker twins and raised them all by himself, Ahsoka couldn’t help but feel confused. From what Luke and Leia had said, at the time of their birth and Padme’s death, there had already been two homes set up and ready for them: the Lars’ and the Organa’s. So why had Obi-Wan taken them instead?

“Why not?” Obi-Wan frowned.

“You did it because of Anakin, didn’t you?” The realisation hit Ahsoka like a tonne of bricks. _Of course_ he’d taken the twins because of Anakin! Had raising Luke and Leia been Obi-Wan’s way of honouring the brother (or should Ahsoka say son) he’d lost?

“They were going to be separated,” Obi-Wan’s voice was scratchy and he looked down as he spoke. “Luke was going to go to Tatooine and Leia to Alderaan and I . . . I just didn’t think that would’ve been what Anakin nor Padme would’ve wanted. I took them to Naboo to have the life that I knew their parents would’ve wanted.”

Even though Ahsoka still felt uncomfortable in the man’s presence she couldn’t help but nod. “You did well; they’re good kids.”

“Thank their genes, not me.”

“I know your influence would’ve helped.”

Obi-Wan smiled at that, his appreciation being felt through the Force. “It wasn’t easy at times,” he finally admitted. “But it was worth it.”

(Ahsoka pictured a younger Obi-Wan, more akin to the man she remembered from the War, tired and weary as he struggled to balance his grief and raising two newborns at the same time. She pictured him getting up at the night when one of the twins cried, rocking them in his arms until the sun started to peak out over the horizon, his mind lightyears away as he tried so hard to remain strong despite the crushing weight of his failures and mourning.)

Silence surrounded them once again and Ahsoka could swear the Bantha in the room tripled in size. The pit in her stomach only grew when Obi-Wan let out a tired sigh, his eyes looking sad as they looked up at her. “Ahsoka, about what happened sixteen years ago, I’m so sorry—“

“We don’t need to discuss it,” she straightened her back, feeling every nerve in her body give a spark as she refused to meet his gaze. Her hands froze and Ahsoka didn’t really know why she felt so on edge. Surely talking about the past was a good thing? And yet all she wanted to do was run away.

“I don’t like this distance between us,” Obi-Wan shook his head. “I’m not asking that you forgive me, just that you hear my apology.”

“You don’t need to apologise.”

Her words were clipped and even as she spoke them, she knew they weren’t true. Because Obi-Wan _did_ need to apologise and yet when Ahsoka heard his apology, she realised that nothing he could do could heal her wounds from her past. Simply saying “ _I’m sorry_ ” didn’t take away what had happened sixteen years ago.

Saying _“I’m sorry_ ” didn’t reverse time and stop the Council from expelling her. It didn’t make her feel less abandoned. It didn’t stop the Empire from rising, Anakin from falling and Padme from dying.

They were just words and Ahsoka wasn’t really sure she wanted to hear them.

“But I do,” Obi-Wan pressed on. “I let you down and I made you doubt whether I cared.”

That sparked something inside Ahsoka’s heart and she couldn’t help but lift her head up slightly, giving Obi-Wan an apprehensive stare. “And did you? Care, I mean.”

“Of course I did. You must realise that the decision to expel you from the Order was not made by me alone.”

“And yet you stood on that Council when they made the verdict that I should be expelled and you said nothing.” There were a million things Ahsoka wanted to say to him but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find the words to put her years of hurt into words. So instead she sighed, dropping her gaze. “I don’t want to discuss it; it’s in the past now and there’s nothing we can do.”

“So that’s it? You’ll avoid me forever? You’ll hardly speak to me again? I hardly believe that is fair, young one.”

“‘m not young,” Ahsoka muttered to herself.

_(“That’s not fair.”_

_“I’m not trying to be.”)_

When they’d been reunited on that Star Destroyer, only days before everything had fallen apart, Ahsoka had wanted nothing more than to rush forward and throw her arms around both Anakin and Obi-Wan. In her time away from the Order she’d missed them both more than she’d ever known she could and seeing them again, in person, had filled her with all the hope she’d been lacking in those months.

She’d truly believed when she’d arrived on their Star Destroyer with Bo-Katan and her plea for help that Obi-Wan and Anakin would’ve answered. They would’ve been together again and nothing could’ve torn them apart.

It hadn’t been until she’d been dismissed, Mandalore being left to rot in Maul’s hands whilst Obi-Wan and Anakin rushed off to save the Chancellor, that Ahsoka had realised just how much they’d become strangers in her time away.

Thinking back to how she’d felt when she’d been seventeen, staring at the two people who’d been the closest to family that she’d ever had and feeling so utterly _lost_ in their presences, Ahsoka curled her hands into fists in her lap.

“You were meant to have my back.”

“I did try, Ahsoka—“

“No! You didn’t!” The words came out harsher, louder, than she’d expected them to. “I need you, Obi-Wan! More than I’d _ever_ needed you but in my time of need . . . you weren’t there.”

“Is that what you believe?” Obi-Wan sounded incredulous but Ahsoka didn’t give him a chance to properly speak.

“Did I feel abandoned by you? Yes, I did! How could I not when you were no-where to be seen? You never visited me when I was stuck in that cell, you never expressed any belief that you thought I was innocent and when I was standing on trial, you just stood there, refusing to meet my gaze. The Council threw me into the jaws of the Sarlaac pit to please the Senate and you just stood by, as if I meant nothing to you. My expulsion was a political scam and you just . . . didn’t care.”

There was a strain to Obi-Wan’s voice, like a deep pain was being brought back to the surface. “I admit that the Council was pressured into the decision to expel you; the case was made that because of the casualties in the blast, you needed to be tried as a citizen of the Republic without the Order’s safety net.”

“So you admit that you turned your back on me. You knew the punishment was death Obi-Wan and yet you sent me down to fight that losing battle anyway! No-one believed me! I would have died had Anakin not found out the truth in time.”

“And that is regrettable, yes, but—“

“But nothing,” Ahsoka growled, her voice quivering for a second. “I needed you, Obi-Wan, but you _weren’t there_.”

Obi-Wan’s gaze became more steely and his frown doubled in size. “Who do you think had the loudest voice demanding your innocence to the Council, hm? Who begged them to reconsider? Who do you think it was that suggested Senator Amidala be the one to defend you? Who covered for Anakin so he had the time to search for the truth? Just because I fought for you in a different way, Ahsoka, doesn’t mean that I didn’t try. My fight was internal and I did all I could.”

Ahsoka paused, taking all he’d said in and processing it. For sixteen years she’d truly believed that Obi-Wan had turned his back on her at the time of her trial . . . she felt moronic now to have not realised that he would’ve been one of her loudest supporters. She may not have heard his voice but others had.

“You fought for me?”

“You truly believed that I didn’t?”

Ahsoka shook her head, feeling a million thoughts floating around all at once. Painful memories about the past crept up and it was a struggle to rein in her emotions. “Anakin— he tried so hard to prove my innocence. He was out there searching for Ventress, refusing to stop until he got answers!”

“And unlike Anakin, who always preferred action to deliberation, I did the best that I could from the inside. I’m sorry, however, that it wasn’t enough.”

The wound that Ahsoka had believed would never close started to heal.

“The fact that you tried is all that matters,” her voice was quiet and in her words, Obi-Wan could sense her sincerity. “You truly never believed I was guilty?”

“Not for a second, young one.”

The Bantha in the room disappeared and Ahsoka felt the silence that encompassed them was one of comfortability. The air between them cleared and second by second, the pit of anxiety brewing in Ahsoka’s stomach started to fade away. For a second, things felt like they used to be: just her and Obi-Wan in the quiet moments of the War, making each other feel better without any words being spoken at all.

“So,” Ahsoka cleared her throat, feeling the distance between them slowly break away. “Where’ve you been these last six years?”

Obi-Wan crinkled his nose. “Dagobah.”

It was then Ahsoka’s turn to crinkle her nose. She’d never been to the swamp planet and she’d never planned to go. _What in the Force did he go there for?_ “Did you go for the exotic views and perfect tan?”

“I can understand your trepidation but the reason for why I went there was because it was the exile of choice for Master Yoda.”

At Obi-Wan’s words, Ahsoka felt something rush up her spine. An electric shock, of-sorts, boosted her forward, her eyes widening with disbelief. “Yoda?! He’s alive?” For some reason it made sense that out of everyone, Yoda would’ve survived the Purge. A part of Ahsoka had never truly believed he could die. “Is he still there?”

If he was, Ahsoka made a mental note to go to Dagobah as soon as possible.

“Ah,” the sudden drop of Obi-Wan’s mood prepared Ahsoka for his next words. “He passed into the Force last night.”

Ahsoka didn’t know why but that small piece of information seemed to hit her really hard.

“Oh,” she looked back down at the cold cup of tea before her. How many Jedi were there left now? The Order had once been booming, a sea of life and compassionate people all prepared to serve the Galaxy in any way they could . . . and now the Jedi were scattered, scared off and in hiding with the last of them slowly fading away.

The time continued to flow by, the two of them sitting in a comfortable silence as Ahsoka once again began playing with the cup of tea before her. The liquid was now ice cold, wasted inside the cup, but Ahsoka didn’t care as she sloshed it around, letting the sound fill the silence surrounding them.

It wasn’t until some of it sloshed over the edge of the cup onto the table that Ahsoka decided to speak once again. She didn’t know what she was expecting to gain from the conversation she had brewing on the tip of her tongue and she almost lost her nerve when her eyes met Obi-Wan’s.

“Do you think a person can turn back from the Dark Side?”

Obi-Wan ran a hand down his face, his entire aura feeling more tired now. “You should’ve have hope for him Ahsoka; I fear you’ll only be left disappointed.”

“But,” she paused, trying to figure out a way to voice her thoughts properly. She’d been deliberating on this ever since she’d seen Vader in person. The monster she’d always hated had once been the brother she’d loved— surely there must be a way for him to be the man she’d once known again? Ahsoka had never been one to give up on the people she loved and even when steeped in darkness and the rational part of her mind told her to run, her heart argued that maybe everything Luke had been saying was true. Maybe Anakin wasn’t as dead as they’d all believed.

“If there was anyone who could turn back from the Dark Side, it would be him.”

“You’re starting to sound like Luke,” Obi-Wan sighed.

“And is that such a bad thing? Luke is adamant that a part of Anakin still lives in Vader— he believes that there’s good in him, even now.”

“That’s because he’s his Mother’s son.”

_(“There’s good in him— I know, I know there’s still . . .”)_

The urge to cry suddenly bombarded Ahsoka and she had to take a second to compose herself. “I’m glad that she didn’t die alone; that you were there with her in her final moments.”

Obi-Wan blinked. He could remember that day vividly. He could still feel the weight of newborn Luke in his arms as Padme’s fight had started to wane, her eyes losing focus and her breathing started to thin. Leia had cried from the droid’s cold, mechanical arms and Obi-Wan had begged for Padme to keep her strength, to hold on. But with ten words Padme had spoken her peace and then her head had fallen to the side, her last breath escaping her.

It took Obi-Wan a second to remember that he was sitting in the deserted canteen with Ahsoka sixteen years on from that dreadful night. The night that had seen him lose everything and gain everything at the same time.

“Was it his fault?”

Ahsoka’s question was barely audible and judging by the terrified look in her eyes, Obi-Wan wasn’t even sure that she wanted the truth.

Was it Anakin’s— no, Vader’s— fault that Padme had died? He’d hurt her, sure, but had that been the sole cause of her death? No one had been able to pinpoint why Padme had died; the droids had been at a loss and even when presented with her children, the two tiny infants who had _needed_ her, Padme, the once strong Queen turned Senator, had had nothing left to give. So had that been Vader’s fault? At the time of Padme’s death, Vader had been lightyears away, being moulded into his monstrous form.

And yet Obi-Wan felt the answer in his chest. “Yes.”

The small gasp Ahsoka exhaled showed true the heaviness of Obi-Wan’s answer. He could practically hear her heart break and Obi-Wan wished, not for the first time, that Luke and Leia’s birth hadn’t been one of tragedy. The birth of a newborn was meant to be a joyous occasion, one that everyone celebrated and recounted with tender love and yet the twins’ birth was overshadowed by heart-wrenching loss.

“So you don’t believe that there is any good left in Vader?” Ahsoka’s voice wobbled.

“Sixteen years ago I stared into the yellow eyes of my former apprentice and I knew the boy I’d raised was gone.”

(Ahsoka wrapped her arms around her chest and drew in another sharp breath, feeling all the hope she’d had left slip away. She knew what Obi-Wan meant: she’d stood on the Death Star, face-to-mask with the terrifying Sith Lord and when she’d reached out, hoping to feel a small fraction of the brother she’d once known, all she’d been met with was darkness and anger.

Vader had been nothing but a twisted individual, so unlike the open, kind and playful brother she’d once known.

And yet, whilst Ahsoka had witnessed the Sith’s callousness, she’d also seen a shift in him. He’d been malicious, murderous and brutal when faced against Ahsoka and Rex, uncaring about who they’d once been to him and hell-bent on bringing them down without any mercy. But with the twins, he’d been different . . . softer, almost.

There had been no coldness nor murderous intent. He’d been possessive towards them, sure, but when Ahsoka looked back on that confrontation with Vader on the Death Star she realised two things: one, Vader’s presence and attitude had changed once Luke and Leia had arrived on the scene and two, never, in a million years, would he have hurt them.

After all, he’d let them all go, simply because Luke asked him to.)

“The twins bring out something in him,” Ahsoka didn’t know why it felt so important to her that she argue this case. “Something so coherently _Anakin_ ; I’ve seen it first hand—“

Obi-Wan frowned. “So you wish to sacrifice Luke and Leia as bait for the Sith in the pure hope that Vader, a monster who has killed children in the past, will do the impossible and return to the light?”

“No!” Ahsoka was appalled at even the thought. “Of course not! I’m just saying that—“

The sound of fast footsteps broke through their conversation and when they turned to look at who was approaching, a red-faced, out of breath, Rex stood in the doorway with a wild look of panic written across his face. Both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka could sense his fear before he even spoke.

“They’re gone: the twins are gone!”


	38. Wicket

Sweat was pooling on Luke’s bed as he tossed and turned, unable to wake himself from the dream-turned-nightmare he was trapped in. Now matter how hard he tried, Luke couldn’t shake off an image from his mind: a city in the clouds . . . a frisbee shaped building with a long, thin cylinder sticking out the end, surrounded by perfectly white clouds. He’d never seen such a place all his life. A part of Luke didn’t believe it existed.

_“Son . . .”_

_Luke found himself on a platform he’d never seen before, high up in the sky with all the clouds blocking the view below. How was the building floating? How high was he? Luke had never been scared of heights but as he peered over the edge of the platform, with no idea what lay below him, his stomach couldn’t help but turn._

_“Son . . .”_

_Luke spun around, his eyes meeting his father’s masked gaze. Vader stood on the platform a good few meters away; it was strange how Luke couldn’t see the blue (or yellow) eyes of his father yet he felt his gaze on him anyway._

_“Father,” Luke called out, taking a step towards the man. “Where are we?”_

_“Cloud City, son.”_

_So that cleared up one thing, Luke thought to himself. “But why are we here?”_

_“You must meet me here, Luke. You must join me.”_

_Luke took a step backwards, shaking his head. “You know I can’t do that.”_

_Vader paused for a second before tilting his head and pointing to something on the left. “Not even if it meant saving your friends?” When Luke turned to see what his father was pointing at, his breath hitched. To the left of the landing platform was a ship, one that was incontestably familiar to Luke. It was nothing but a bucket of bolts, an eye-sore at the best of times, and yet Luke felt his heart drop._

_The Millennium Falcon._

_“No! What have you done to them?” He shook his head at his father, unable to believe the man could be so cruel. Or perhaps Luke could believe the man was capable of being so cruel, he’d just not expected that cruelty to be extended to his friends. Or, again, maybe he could and he was just kidding himself._

_Screams suddenly filled the air, yells of pain pierced through Luke’s ears and even when he reached up to cover them, squeezing his eyes closed and wishing to wake up as if his life depended on it, the screams still managed to break through. They echoed in his mind, full of agony as they begged Luke to help them. “Save us!” The yell of a man screeched as a mighty roar coincided with it._

_“Let them go!” Luke pressed his face on the platform, trying to focus on the cool steel pressing against his forehead instead of the agonised screams reverberating around his skill. Wait— when had he fallen to his knees? He hadn’t even remembered collapsing._

_Han and Chewie’s faces danced around his mind, their screams sending shivers down his spine and when they finally stopped, Luke opened his eyes to find his father towering over him._

_“Meet me, Son. I’ll be waiting.”_

When Luke awoke, covered in sweat and his heart racing, it took him a second to remember where he was. It was early in the morning on Endor, right about the time that most of the Rebels were settling down and as Luke looked around the darkness of his room, all he could think about was the place he’d seen in his dream.

Cloud City.

* * *

Leia wanted it put on record that she believed what they were doing was a terrible idea.

“And not to mention that we could _die_ , Luke!” She carried on with her spiel as they made their way through Endor’s forest, scouting out the ship that Obi-Wan had left behind when they’d arrived only a day ago. From the moment her brother had barged into her room, sprouting nonsense about how he’d had a vision where their father had told him to meet him at some floating city in the clouds, she’d been against his plan to _actually_ go there. But Luke was just as stubborn as she was and no matter how hard Leia had tried to argue (and she’d tried), Luke’s mind had been made up.

So here she was, walking through Endor’s forest at the dead of night, trying to be supportive of her brother’s craziness.

“I know what I saw Leia!” Luke argued back, his hand remaining on the lightsaber at his hip as they ventured deeper and deeper into the wilderness.

“And what if what you saw was a trap?”

Luke actually paused: he’d not considered that. But trap or not, he’d heard Han and Chewie’s cries of pain and Luke knew he couldn’t ignore that. The smuggler and his co-pilot had helped them out at the start of their journey and if they were in trouble, especially because of the twins, then Luke couldn’t leave them.

“So what if it is?” Luke shrugged off the thought. “I saw the Millennium Falcon in my vision Leia; I heard Han and Chewie begging for help! Father is holding them hostage!”

“And what if he kills them the second we arrive?” Leia couldn’t shake away the rational part of her brain as she followed after her brother at a slightly slower pace. It was strange, when she was the one calling the shots, running off to do her own reckless plan, her mind never strayed to the rational side. But when it was Luke dragging her off to do something impulsive, all Leia could think about were the what-ifs.

Luke didn’t even want to consider that. “He won’t.”

“How do you know?”

“Because what would be the point in killing them when he got what he wanted: us?”

Leia sometimes hated how naive Luke could be, especially when it came to their father. “What was the point in murdering defenceless younglings?” She muttered under her breath, receiving a hard glare from her brother when he caught her words. But Leia didn’t care what Luke had to say, she knew, without a doubt, that they were walking into a trap and whilst the obvious answer seemed to be running to Obi-Wan to get the elder man to stop Luke from springing the trap, Leia knew her brother better than anyone: nothing in the whole Galaxy would be able to stop him if he thought someone was in trouble. It wasn’t in Luke’s nature to just sit back and let people suffer.

“I hope you at least have a plan,” Leia called out when they’d been weaving through Endor’s trees in silence for a few minutes.

“I might have a rough one.”

 _Oh brother,_ Leia rolled her eyes. “A _rough_ one? Exactly how rough is your plan?”

“Consider it less than 50% thought out.”

“And I’m trusting you because . . .” Leia waved her hands around, trying to prove her point that there was no logical reasoning for why she should be out here in the Endor forest, following after her impulsive brother. For a second she wondered if perhaps she should turn around and run back to the base to get Obi-Wan before Luke went any further.

But then she remembered how frantic Luke had been when he’d barged into her room less than an hour ago, waking her up and yelling about how they needed to leave immediately. _Han and Chewie are in danger!_ Luke had actually seemed scared as he’d forcibly shaken her awake. _Who?_ Leia had just asked back before her memory had flooded her with images of the Millennium Falcon and the cocky pilot who’d saved their lives.

“Look,” Luke paused and even in the darkness, Leia could see how serious he looked. “If you don’t want to come with me then turn around. I’m not forcing you to be here. Go back to the Rebels and tell them about where I’m going, I don’t care. But I have to do this Leia; I won’t be able to live with myself if I don’t go.”

Leia crossed her arms over her chest. “And who is meant to stop you from doing something stupid if I go back, hm? I’m coming whether you like it or not— and I deserve the right to complain about your stupidity if I want to.”

Luke rolled his eyes as he carried on moving but Leia could sense his gratitude through their bond. It went unsaid that they would always have each other’s backs. Whether Leia thought Luke’s rough plan was irrational or not (and she did), there was nothing in the Galaxy that could force her to leave his side.

“Just know,” Leia carried on as she side-stepped a tree, using the Force to enhance her sight. “That when we die, I’m blaming you.”

A long heavy sigh escaped Luke’s lips. He appreciated his sister being there for him, through thick and thin, but he did wish she could have his back in a more silent way. “You mean _if_ we die.”

Leia just rolled her eyes. “We’ll see.”

* * *

When the twins had been six years old, Obi-Wan had lost them once in the streets of Theed. They’d begged him for weeks to take them to Naboo’s capital to see the Freedom Day Parade; all the children at their school had talked non-stop about it but Obi-Wan had always been too cautious of large crowds ever since the rise of the Empire to ever attend. After all, a large group of people always increased the chance of trouble.

But with Luke and Leia’s insistent begging, which hadn’t taken long to drive Obi-Wan to the brink of insanity, he’d given in. And, if he’d been honest with himself, a part of him had wanted to go as well.

Freedom Day on Naboo had been the celebration of the end of the Trade Federation’s occupation on the planet. And whilst the day also marked the anniversary of Obi-Wan’s Master’s death, he’d always known that Qui-Gon would prefer his life to be celebrated rather than mourned. It didn’t hurt that there was also a minute of silence that the Parade partook in to commemorate the Jedi Master who’s life had been lost in the fight.

(Even with the Empire rising and talk of Jedi being taboo, Freedom Day still found a way to celebrate Qui-Gon even if they didn’t say it was such.)

However, in the first five minutes of them arriving at the Parade, the streets all filled and troopers roaming the area to keep the ‘peace’, Obi-Wan had lost the twins. He should’ve known better, truthfully. He’d taken his eye off them for one second— that was as long as they’d needed to sneak away. Not as if they’d run off on purpose, no; they’d been curious, excitable children who’s legs had moved faster than their brains and in the one second Obi-Wan’s eyes had been adverted, they’d managed to get lost in the crowds.

Even ten years later, Obi-Wan could still remember the feeling of panic that had forced his heart to skip a beat. He’d been terrified. His heart had fallen to his stomach and he’d pushed his way through crowds of people, screaming the twins’ name to no avail.

They’d always been small children and at six years old, they’d still had a long way to go to reach his waist. In a sea of adults and older children alike, Obi-Wan had known there had been no chance of him finding them with his eyes alone.

But to use the Force in such an open environment, even in a covert fashion, had been far too risky and despite the panic that had left him frazzled, Obi-Wan had known he couldn’t risk it.

The Parade had been beautiful and yet Obi-Wan had missed every second of it, his attention focused only on scouting the crowds and yelling out the names of the children he’d lost. He’d received odd looks and more than one complaint but Obi-Wan had not stopped, his panic having pushed him forward even after his throat had been raw and the Parade had come to an end.

And just when the crowds had started to disperse and Obi-Wan had been on his last tether, arguing with himself on whether to use the Force or not, he’d caught a glimpse of blonde hair next to brown and all the panic that had been brewing had turned to relief. The twins had been stood by an empty marketplace stall, their hands had been entwined as they’d tried their best to avoid being trampled by the evaporating crowds of Nubian citizens.

There had been tears running down Luke’s face but Leia’s expression had just been stony, daring anyone but Obi-Wan to try and approach them.

“Don’t worry Lukie,” Leia’s voice had filtered into Obi-Wan’s ears when he’d come closer. “He’ll find us. He always does.”

It had been then that Obi-Wan had entered their field of vision, his auburn locks standing out through the sea of strangers and he’d felt, more than seen, the relief that had flowed through the twins, matched only by his own. He’d knelt down on the ground when they’d weaved through the legs of people that had separated them and when they’d finally been back in his hold, he’d kissed their temples and mentally promised himself to never let them out of his sight again.

It seemed history had once again repeated itself.

He’d left Luke and Leia alone for only a matter of hours and now they were gone, off Force knows where, for Force knows what reason. And Obi-Wan could kick himself for having not seen this coming.

“What do you mean you don’t know where they are, Artoo?!” Obi-Wan felt just about ready to pull his hair out as he paced up and down in front of the two droids who’d conveniently been shut down at the time of Luke and Leia’s disappearance.

It had been half an hour since Rex had barged in with the news that the twins were gone and Obi-Wan felt himself age ten years with each passing minute that they hadn’t been found. A quick check with the Force had confirmed Luke and Leia weren’t on the Rebel base but— thank the Force— they were still on Endor. For now, that is.

Not for the first time, he reached out with the Force, attempting to communicate with either or (preferably) both of the twins. _‘Luke, Leia, hear me. Talk to me. Where are you? Where did you go?’_

Silence.

Agitation flooded Obi-Wan’s bones and for a second he felt as if he could scream. Why in the spinning Galaxy had they left the Rebellion without a word to anyone?

_‘Leia! Luke! Talk to me!’_

Silence.

Over their comm channel, Rex suggested: “Maybe they just went for a walk?” But even to the Clone’s ears, he didn’t seem to believe it. As Obi-Wan stared around Luke's disarrayed room, he noticed that nothing seemed to be truly out of place. There was no sign here that the boy had packed a bag and decided to go on a one-way trip but there was one thing missing which proved to Obi-Wan that the twins had left for more than just a simple walk: Anakin’s lightsaber was nowhere to be found.

“Unlikely,” Ahsoka’s voice crackled back over the comm in his hand. Whereas Obi-Wan had stayed behind to search for any type of clue or note that Luke or Leia could’ve left behind, Ahsoka and Rex had left to go search the perimeter of the Base.

And then a lightbulb flashed above Obi-Wan’s head.

It was as if the clogs in his head had turned the correct way, unlocking the answer they’d all been scratching their heads over for the last fifteen minutes: where could the twins have gone?

His ship.

The ship he’d abandoned somewhere in Endor’s forest. If Obi-Wan wasn’t so annoyed at the twins running off and anxious to get them back, he might even have felt proud about their cunning. His ship had been inactive for six years, left to rot in Dagobah’s swampy plains and it wasn’t registered on either the Rebellion nor Empire’s charts. In all respects, it was a ghost ship, untraceable by all.

Of course they would’ve snuck off to steal his ship! It was the only way for them to get off planet (if that was their goal, which Obi-Wan suspected it was) considering no way would be they given access to the Rebel’s fleet.

“They’re going to take my ship,” Obi-Wan voiced his thoughts out-loud, already heading towards the exit. He ignored the groaning over the comm and Rex’s mumbling about the twins being too much like their father. For a second, Obi-Wan was going to object: spontaneous recklessness had always been Anakin’s speciality but when it came to this specific circumstance, Obi-Wan actually believed it was the twins’ Amidala genes that were shining through.

After all, considering what Anakin had told him oh-so-many years ago now, the whole idea to ‘rescue’ him on Geonosis had been Padme’s idea. _“She said that, whether I wanted to go or not, she was going to leave to try and help you, Master! She said that if I wanted to continue my mission to protect her then I had to join her! It wasn’t my idea, Master!”_ Obi-Wan could hear his former apprentice’s voice in his mind now, as if nineteen years hadn’t passed since the end of the battle that had kickstarted the Clone Wars.

“Are you sure?” Rex frowned.

“Positive.”

_‘Luke! Leia! Stop and listen to me: do not leave Endor, do you understand me? I know you’re planning to take my ship. Do not—‘_

Obi-Wan growled with frustration when he felt a slight barrier cut him off from the twins. Before when he’d been trying to reach out, he’d been able to sense that they were simply just not paying attention to the fact he’d been attempting to reach them. If one was distracted then it made sense that they would miss someone’s Force call. It was as if your comlink was on silent, buzzing away without you even realising.

But the twins had sensed him trying to reach them now. And they’d shut him off. As if they’d picked up their comlink and switched it off.

 _Damn Skywalkers,_ Obi-Wan frowned as he wasted no time in heading off to the location he could remember leaving his ship just over a day ago. Artoo let out a string of beeps by his side and when Obi-Wan glanced down, he realised he shouldn’t be surprised that the droid’s had decided to tag along.

“Oh I do hope that Master Luke and Mistress Leia will be alright,” Threepio’s faint voice worried from somewhere a little further back. Obi-Wan may be getting older but if he thought the twins were in danger, planning something stupid, then his legs moved as if he were back in his prime. And with the way Threepio stumbled over everything in his path, he knew he couldn’t wait around for the protocol droid to catch up.

“We need to find them.” Obi-Wan yelled down his comlink as he ran. “Before they do something stupid. We need to find them before _he_ does.”

_Kriffing Skywalker’s with their kriffing impulsive genes._

* * *

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Leia asked for the millionth time, watching as Luke played with the wires in the ship’s controls, trying (and so far failing) to get the engine started.

Luke grit his teeth. “Yes! Stop nagging, Leia.”

“Nagging? Who’s nagging? I’m not nagging,” she crossed her arms over her chest, trying to look as innocent as possible. She counted to three in her head before continuing on with her crusade to vex her brother. “It just looks as if you’re struggling, honestly.”

Luke’s fingers slipped and he let out a yell when one of the wires electrocuted his hand. The glare he turned upon her was deadly as his eyes narrowed. “Will you give me some space? I can’t concentrate with you breathing down my neck!”

“I’m just trying to offer you help!”

“Yeah right and I’m a Wookie,” Luke mumbled, picking up the wires again. “How about you do me a favour and just leave? I’ll get the ship running faster without your annoying comments in my ear.”

“I’m the least annoying person ever,” Leia refuted, only earning a disbelieving glance from her brother. “And judging from what I’ve been watching you do in the last ten minutes, I don’t think you’ll ever get this ship running.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Have a little faith.”

“In your ability to electrocute yourself? Done.”

Just as she said it, one of the wires in Luke’s hand spat sparks and he hissed, dropping it on the floor as he shook his slightly burnt fingers. She was starting to lose count how many times that had happened since her brother had hatched open the ship’s controls and claimed that he knew how to hot-wire the engine. Not that she didn’t believe Luke would end up getting the engine to come to life— she did have faith that he would eventually do it, she just knew it would be a bumpy ride.

“You keep distracting me!” Luke growled as he picked up the wire again. “Will you leave?"

Leia weighed it up in her mind: a part of her wanted to stay and annoy her brother until he snapped (which, given his already short temper, wouldn’t be too far away) but then again, she also knew that they were running on borrowed time. It was still relatively dark outside but with each passing minute the sun was threatening to peak out over the horizon and day would arrive. If Obi-Wan didn’t already know they were missing, he would soon when he entered their quarters and discovered their missing beds.

And whilst Leia wasn’t overly keen about the mission Luke had decided he just _had_ to go on, she also knew that getting caught by Obi-Wan, red-handed, wasn’t an option. Facing off a Sith Lord wasn’t going to be fun but getting lectured by Obi-Wan Kenobi was arguably worse (although that was subjective).

“Fine,” Leia sighed, standing up with a roll of her eyes. The longer she distracted her brother, the higher the chance of Obi-Wan dragging them back to the Base became. “I’ll go . . . check the perimeter or something.”

Luke didn’t reply as she left but she could feel his appreciation.

Even in the vague light, Endor was beautiful in Leia’s eyes. The trees were broad and tall, their leaves a luscious green, all healthy-looking. There ferns on the ground all mingled into one and there was something comforting about the forest scenery, so unlike Dagobah’s swamp.

Kicking at a patch of grass by her feet, Leia couldn’t help herself from reaching out with the Force to poke at her brother. _‘Are you done yet, nerfherder?’_ His response were a few choice words that Leia knew Obi-Wan would frown upon. _‘I’ll take that as a no.’_

The sun was starting to peak through the trees now, the darkness being lifted as it reached that awkward part of time when it transitioned from night to day. The sky was a dull blue, getting lighter with each minute, and as Leia peered out into Endor’s forest, she could see how the rise of the sun cast a delicate glow upon the trees and wildlife. A lizard-like creature ran from one of the fern bushes up the wooden tree and when Leia strained her ears, she heard the faint distinct sound of scuttling feet. A bird made cooing noises from somewhere up above, she couldn’t see the creature but there was a flapping of wings before the cooing noise became fainter and more distant.

There was a rustling of fern bushes coming from her left, followed by the cracking of twigs being broken in half as if a foot had stepped upon it. The unmistakeable sound of feet approaching put Leia on edge but when she reached out with the Force she was mildly pleased to sense that the lifeform approaching didn’t seem to have any threatening intent.

The rustling noise got louder, the creature getting closer, and for a second, Leia tempted to run back onto the ship and grab the blaster she really should’ve brought out with her— _smart choice with that,_ Leia berated herself. She knew it wasn’t wise to be outside, completely defenceless, as Endor’s night came to an end and the creatures of the forest slowly awoke.

Curling her hands into fists, Leia decided to give herself more credit. _Maybe not completely defenceless._

There was a growl to her left, the creature having managed to sneak up on her despite everything, and when Leia around, fists raised, she felt all her fears subside. There, with a cloth hat sat upon its head, a smarty-fashioned spear held in its hand and an inquisitive look upon its face, was an Ewok. It was small, just barely the height of Leia’s hips— and she was by no means tall, per se.

The Ewok’s spear was pointed in Leia’s direction but she relaxed her defensive stance, holding her palms up to show the creature she meant no harm. “Hey there,” she leant back against a log, hoping her calm demeanour would be enough to get the Ewok to trust her. “You scared me for a second. You can put your weapon down, I promise I won’t hurt you.”

The Ewok didn’t move, his spear still raised but he did tilt his head curiously to the side.

“I bet I scared you too, huh,” Leia carried on. She had no idea if this Ewok spoke or understood Basic— the reason the Rebellion had chosen Endor for its Base had been because of the primitive setting. “You have nothing to fear from me though, I can assure you.”

The Ewok didn’t lower his spear but he did relax slightly, his previous apprehension starting to wane away. Leia saw it as progress.

 _Maybe a peace offering?_ “Are you hungry?” Slowly, so not to startle the Ewok with any sudden movements, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the ration bar she’d had saved. Considering their fast-paced and last-minute dash from the Base, neither her or Luke had been given enough time to grab more than a bar each for their travels.

Luke would kill her if he found out that she’d given her rations the Endor-native creature— especially when she got hungry later and forced him to half his own bar to share with her.

But she felt no guilt as he held the ration bar out to the Ewok, watching as it sniffed the air, as if trying to sense for danger. “You can take it,” Leia took a step closer to the Ewok, pausing when it retreated back but still holding the bar out to it. Slowly, once she was still, the Ewok came closer, quickly grabbing the bar before moving back, taking the time to sniff the item before taking a bite.

He munched happily, seeming to enjoy it. The spear in his hold relaxed and once he was done, any animosity he’d had for Leia was gone.

“You liked that, huh?” She couldn’t help but smile as the Ewok moved to sit beside where she leant against the log. He pointed at her as if to ask for more. “Oh sorry, that was all I had.”

The Ewok grumbled, speaking in his native tongue and Leia had absolutely no idea as to what he’d said. She wished that they’d brought Threepio on for their reckless excursion— no doubt the protocol droid would have been able to translate.

“I’m sorry,” Leia apologised again. “I don’t understand what you’re saying. I’m guessing you live close-by, huh. I hope the Rebels don’t cause too many problems for you; I bet its been far more crowded on this side of the planet than what you’re used to.”

The Ewok moved to grab her hand, jumping down from the log and attempting to tug her in the direction from where he’d come from. For a minute, Leia wanted to oblige. She wanted to see this Ewok’s village; no doubt it was beautiful, but she knew she couldn’t. She pulled her hand out of the Ewok’s hold, shaking her head.

“I can’t come with you, I’m sorry.”

The Ewok grumbled and it didn’t take a genius to put together that he was probably asking why.

“We’re leaving, my brother and I,” she pointed to the ship. The Ewok still didn’t seem to understand, tilting his head in confusion as he babbled something Leia couldn’t translate. “We have somewhere we need to be, you see,” she tried to explain. “We’re going to a city in the clouds. I wish I could stay longer, your planet is very beautiful but—“

A sudden rumbling sound made both the Ewok and Leia jump, the words in her mouth dying as the ship’s engines came to life, humming away as the ground rumbled with the anticipation of the ship taking off. The Ewok let out a grumbled shriek, his spear once again held tightly in his hand, put on edge by the ship’s rumbling and the sudden appearance of Leia’s brother.

Luke came running down the ship’s ramp, his pride and excitement blinding him, momentarily, to the fact that there was a spear-holding Ewok, clearly frightened, standing before his sister. “I did it!” He declared, as if Leia couldn’t hear and feel the evidence of the ship’s engine humming with life. “I fixed it! Let’s g— ah!”

Luke’s eyes connected with the Ewok and he jumped back slightly, raising his hands as a sign of peace despite the length of distance between himself and the spear being pointed in his direction.

“Are we under some sort of Ewok arrest?” He hissed to his sister, frowning when the Ewok let out a garble of words he couldn’t translate. He turned back to the creature, hands still raised. “Uh, we’re sorry! We didn’t mean any harm!”

The Ewok let out another string of untranslatable words.

“Do you understand him?” Luke looked at Leia as if he truly expected her to say yes.

“Do I look like an Ewok to you?” She snapped, taking a step back when the spear was moved in her direction. She’d thought she’d created some sort of friendship with the Ewok— she’d given him her rations, for Force sake!— but it seems Luke’s appearance had pushed all progress she’d made back.

Luke half shrugged. “I didn’t know if you got taught the language in your Princess studies!”

“Out of all the other dialects in the Galaxy, why would you think a Princess would be taught Ewokese?!”

“I don’t know!”

“And thanks to you, by the way, you’ve put my friend back on edge!” Leia glared at her brother before turning her gaze to the Ewok, wanting to extend the olive branch once again. “Ignore Luke,” she kept her tone calming and her expression friendly. “He’s a silly Nerf—“ her brother made a noise at the insult— “he didn’t mean to scare you. We won’t hurt you, I promise.”

The Ewok glanced between the twins, his spear never lowering but through the Force, Leia could sense him easing up. One of his hands left his spear and he jabbed it in Luke’s direction, palm upwards, as if he were asking for something.

Leia had to stifle her laugh when she realised what he wanted. “Give him your ration bar.”

“What?”

“Give him your ration bar!”

Luke looked offended at the idea, growing defensive immediately. “No! I might get hungry later!”

The Ewok made a noise that sounded like he was growling, his outstretched palm jabbing at the air again as he became more demanding. He edged a little closer to Luke but with his spear still pointed at the boy, it did no favours getting Luke to concede.

“Luke!”

“No!”

Leia rolled her eyes. “I gave him mine, Luke. It’ll make him trust you.”

“So?” Her brother took a step backwards when the Ewok moved even closer. “We’re about to go face a Sith Lord, I think my need for energy outweighs his.”

“Whatever,” Leia grumbled, pretending to concede before using the Force to pull the ration bar from her brother’s pocket. Before he could even protest— which he did— Leia was already placing the bar in the Ewok’s hand, mindful of the still-raised spear. The Ewok took the ration bar greedily, lowering his spear as he ripped off the wrapper of the treat and began munching away happily.

“Leia!” The utter look of betrayal on Luke’s face almost caused her to laugh. If someone were to walk in on the scene, they would’ve thought that she’d killed someone he loved. “How could you?!”

“Oh, quit your whining,” she waved a hand as if it were no big deal. “It was one ration bar— how much energy could it really have brought you?”

Luke refused to reply, grumbling something under his breath instead. They watched as the Ewok finished with the ration bar, his disposition suddenly far less hostile compared to mere moments ago. The spear was lowered and he said something in his language that neither twin could translate.

"I guess he is kinda cute," Luke admitted when the Ewok sat back down on the log he'd been on earlier, swinging his legs off the side.

Leia batted her eyelids at her brother, putting her palms together in a begging action. "Can we keep him?" 

Luke's response was to roll his eyes. "You can't even understand him."

"I don't need to! Communication or not, Wicket and I have formed a close bond."

"Wicket?"

For a second, Leia was confused with herself. Where had that name come from? It had just popped into her head and yet it felt right. Even the Ewok perked up a little when he heard her call his name. "Yeah," Leia decided to just go with it. "Wicket. We're best friends, aren't we?" The Ewok obviously didn't understand her but he babbled something in his native tongue, continuing to swing his legs.

"Well, I don't think _Wicket_ will like space travel. Sorry, Leia. And I don't exactly want to be held accountable for kidnapping— or would it be Ewoknapping?"

Leia sighed; she'd not actually believed her new friend would be able to come with them on their travels to Cloud City and if Luke had agreed with her joking suggestion to adopt the Ewok, she probably would've said that he were two hairs short of being a Wookie. But with how her brother's patience seemed to being wearing thin, she knew the time to say goodbye was fast approaching and she found herself not wanting to go.

The Ewok, Wicket, babbled something again and as Leia opened her mouth to apologise, for the millionth time, about being unable to understand, she felt a tugging at her mind. A look in Luke’s direction and she knew he’d felt it too.

_‘Luke! Leia! Stop and listen to me: do not leave Endor, do you understand me? I know you’re planning to take my ship.’_

Obi-Wan’s unmistakable mental call sounded in their minds with such intensity that for a moment, they were both tempted to do as they were told. There was an unrestrained panic in their former guardian’s voice, one which he could’ve covered up if he’d spoken aloud but showed clear and true through the Force.

Obi-Wan was worried— _for_ them. And he knew what they were planning to do.

_‘Do not—‘_

Like clicking the end button a comlink, Luke shut off his connection to the elder man, turning to his sister with nothing but seriousness in his eyes. “We need to leave. Now.”

Who knew how long it would take Obi-Wan to reach their location? It had taken them at least an hour to locate where they’d abandoned the ship but that had been because they’d taken a few wrong turns. Would it take Obi-Wan just as long? Or would he just latch onto their location through the Force now that he had a vague idea of where they could be?

Leia still didn’t like the idea of leaving Endor so soon, not after they’d only just rejoined the Rebels, but she knew that Luke believed what he’d seen in his vision to be true: that Han and Chewie were in danger and that Vader was waiting for them in Cloud City. And whilst she’d never been a massive fan of the cocky pilot, she knew he didn’t deserve to be in the hands of her Sith father. Not because of her.

Luke was already running up the ramp of the ship to start the pre-flight sequence as Leia turned back to Wicket. “We have to leave now, sorry,” she truly did feel bad about leaving so soon. A part of her wished she could’ve gone to see his village, if only once. “You better move out of the way from here or you’ll be fried when we take off.”

With the rumblings of the ship starting to get louder and the ground shaking from the force of it all, Wicket seemed to understand. He stumbled forward, gently wrapping his arms around Leia’s legs before running off into the forest. She watched as he left, taking a second to say a mental goodbye to the nicest planet the Rebels had occupied— Dantooine had been nice but with the forest scenery and luscious environment, and the furry friend she'd made, Endor had it beat— before turning on her heel and joining Luke in the cockpit.

“I’m trying to find Cloud City on the navi-computer but it isn’t showing up!”

Leia strapped herself into the co-pilot seat, swatting his hand away from the computer. “You fly us off this planet and I’ll handle the navi-computer.”

“Good luck,” Luke grumbled as he easily handled the controls, getting the ship into the air with the skill of someone who had decades of piloting under their belt. It always amazed Leia how at-home her brother looked when he flew. Even now, when he was stressed about Obi-Wan on their tail and the idea of their father holding their temporary chauffeur in hostage, he handled the rickety, old ship as if he knew it inside and out. “Maybe I am going crazy because according to the nav-system, Cloud City doesn’t exist.”

“That’s because Cloud City isn’t a planet, Luke,” Leia rolled her eyes. “It’s in the name: Cloud _City.”_

They were in the air now, just clear of the trees and heading upwards towards the planet’s atmosphere. Luke kept his gaze concentrated on what was ahead, the early morning sky melting away into the blankness of space. Immediately, a coldness filled the ship, the vastness of space managing to look bleak in comparison to the lovely sight of Endor below. No matter what Luke did, he refused to think of Obi-Wan on the planet’s surface, watching as their ship disappeared from sight. He refused to think about how panicked the elder man would be. Or how angry.

“Then where are we heading?” Luke spoke to keep his mind off the people they’d left behind on the planet’s surface. How upset would Ahsoka be, considering they’d only just reunited after two weeks? Would Rex blame himself— Luke shook his head, gripping the ship’s control even harder.

Leia typed the planet’s name into the navi-computer, watching as Luke gripped the handle to the hyperdrive, waiting a second before pulling it.

“Bespin.”

* * *

He were too late.

Obi-Wan felt as the twins entered hyperspace, their Force signatures suddenly disappearing as they travelled millions of lightyears away from him with every passing second, just as he arrived at the scene where they’d stolen his ship. It felt like a punch to the gut to see the empty space before him. For a second, he’d actually believed he could catch them in time.

But then they’d slipped through his fingers and Obi-Wan wasn’t sure whether to blame himself or their impulsive genes.

 _‘Luke, Leia—‘_ He tried to call out to them even though it was fruitless. Even if they hadn’t shut him out, they wouldn’t be able to hear him when in hyperspace.

His comlink crackled and Obi-Wan was tempted, just for a moment, to throw it against a tree. “I was too late,” he answered it instead.

Ahsoka seemed to already know this, however. “I felt them leave the system. Rex and I have cleared a ship from the Rebel’s logs, if you head back now then we shouldn’t be too far behind them. We can track them down and try to intercept them before they do something stupid.”

Obi-Wan listened as Threepio and Artoo came rolling out from the trees, the both of them seeming just as displeased about the twins’ leaving as he felt himself. He’d never learnt binary as well as Anakin but he could guess that whatever Artoo was beeping as he came and joined his side, wasn’t anything complimentary on Luke and Leia’s behalf.

“Oh dear,” Threepio anxious state increased. “We were too late! Master Luke and Mistress Leia are gone! Oh by my Maker, I hope they don’t get into too much trouble!”

Obi-Wan ignored him, lifting his comlink up to speak. “We don’t know where they’ve gone, Ahsoka. They could’ve gone anywhere! Trying to find them now will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.”

“So, what are you suggesting? We just sit back and hope they don’t get themselves killed?” Ahsoka sounded suddenly furious.

Almost as offended as Obi-Wan sounded when he replied back. “Of course not! But what good will it do if we fly across the Galaxy and bring attention to ourselves? Two Jedi and a Clone? We’ll be shot down before we can even hope of tracking down the twins.”

“Then what do you suppose we do?”

Obi-Wan paused. What _should_ they do? As much as he wanted to chase after the twins, he also knew it would be impossible unless he knew where they were heading. And unfortunately for him, neither Luke nor Leia had bothered to leave any clues.

(When Obi-Wan had been raising Anakin, he’d been certain that his Padawan’s reckless antics and impulsive decision-making, always running into things head-first, would be the death of him. But as Obi-Wan looked up at the sky now, the twins’ ship gone from sight, he was ready to amend that statement. Anakin had been bad— no matter what Obi-Wan had done, he’d been unable to curve his Padawan’s thrill-seeking nature— but it seemed the twins were worse.)

“Oh my,” Threepio’s voice cut into Obi-Wan’s mind and when he turned to see what the protocol droid was looking at, he was met with the curious gaze of an Ewok. The spear in his hand was raised but he stepped towards where Obi-Wan stood, hand outstretched as he grumbled something.

“He seems to be asking for food, Master Kenobi,” Threepio translated.

Obi-Wan frowned. “You can understand him?”

“Why yes, remember I am fluent in over six million forms of languages throughout the Galaxy—“ Artoo let out a beep that had Threepio waving his arms around, indignantly. “I am _not_ showing off, Artoo!”

The Ewok grumbled something again, this time pointing his spear more accurately in Obi-Wan’s way as what the Jedi suspected was a means of a threat. He crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow. “What is he saying, Threepio?”

“That he wants whatever food you bring, Master Kenobi.”

He stroked his beard, frowning. “What food?”

Threepio turned to the Ewok, saying something in Ewokese that the creature understood and replied to. “He says that he wants the food that the others gave him, sir.”

“Others?”

Threepio translated the question once more, receiving an answer before turning back to the Jedi. “He says the boy and girl, sir. I do believe he might be talking about Master Luke and Mistress Leia.” The Ewok grumbled, seeming to become more hostile the longer he waited for food but Obi-Wan remained at ease.

“I’m afraid I have nothing to offer you,” he lifted his hands, palm-facing, to show the Ewok he had nothing to give. He noticed two empty wrappers of ration bars littered on the floor near where the Ewok stood and it clicked in Obi-Wan’s mind that the twins must have fed their supplies to the creature before they’d left.

(A memory resurfaced in Obi-Wan’s mind of a simpler time: the twins were little, barely four years old, with chubby cheeks and wide, curious eyes as they’d wandered close to the river stream where a group of duck-like creatures had been swimming, letting out little noises which had enchanted the twins immediately. He’d been forced to keep a close eye on them, dodging forwards more than once to pull them back when they got too close and threatened to tumble into the stream. “Feed, feed,” they’d chanted until Obi-Wan had relented and handed over the bread he’d been saving for the picnic they’d planned to go on. They’d spent a whole afternoon out in that dying Nubian summer light, throwing pieces of bread at the swimming animals who’d eaten it up happily, the twins practically shining as they’d clapped their hands and giggled whenever the creatures had quacked in their direction—

Obi-Wan pushed the thought of his mind, focusing on the here and now.)

A thought struck him that if Luke and Leia had tried to appease the hungry Ewok by handing over their food, they might have even attempted a friendship. They were naturally friendly children and even if they hadn’t been able to understand what had been said to them, they might still have tried their chances at a conversation.

Ignoring the beeping of his comlink, Obi-Wan turned to Threepio. “Ask him if he knows where that boy and girl went.”

Threepio translated it. “He says they went up there, Master Kenobi.” The droid’s arms were too stiff— when he got the twins back, Obi-Wan knew he’d be getting Luke to oil Threepio’s joints— but he clearly meant to point at the sky.

“Does he know where exactly?”

The Ewok let out a string of words that seemed to confused Threepio. “He keeps shouting nonsense, sir.”

“What is he saying, Threepio?”

“Something about clouds,” Threepio seemed to have enough of the Ewok’s rumblings. If his eyes hadn’t been glued in his head, Obi-Wan suspected he would’ve rolled them. “Oh, he’s just babbling a lot of nonsense, sir. Clouds, clouds, clouds, he keeps yelling— what a load of rubbish.”

Artoo let out a string of beeps, rolling forwards. The Ewok jumped, letting out a screech before using his spear to jab at Artoo’s dome. In retaliation, the astromech droid let out his pincer and a current of electricity sparked on the end of it, making the Ewok growl and step backwards.

“That is enough, Artoo,” Threepio sounded like a disgruntled parent. “You always have to make a scene when I am trying to communicate with someone!” Artoo beeped again. “No Artoo, he isn’t making any sense! And no my wires are not crossed, how dare you! He keeps saying that they went to a city in the clouds! Absolute gibberish if you ask me.”

Obi-Wan felt as if an electric current ran up his back. “Did you just say a city in the clouds?”

Threepio sounded suddenly exhausted. “Yes Master Kenobi, as you can tell, it is a load of nonsense. Maybe I didn’t explain myself very well? You see, he’s using a very ancient form of dialect so I suppose my pronunciation could have been off . . .”

A city in the clouds.

Picking up his comlink, Obi-Wan didn’t waste any time with niceties. “Ahsoka! Set the course on the ship for Bespin, that’s where the twins have gone. I’m on my way back now and we can leave within the hour.”

Ahsoka didn’t question how he knew, instead she replied with an affirmative, telling him to hurry up.

“I thank you, friend,” Obi-Wan bowed in the direction of the spear-brandished Ewok before turning on his heel to re-enter the forest surrounding the Rebel’s Base. “Threepio, Artoo, we need to leave,” he called behind him, ignoring the protocol droid’s complaint about his sudden rudeness.

Obi-Wan hadn’t been to Cloud City in decades but he knew it had never been Imperial friendly and no matter how hard he thought about it, for the life of him he couldn’t understand why they would go to Bespin of all places. And why now?

He had a feeling he wouldn’t like whatever the answer was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long to update :( My laptop decided to flake out on me and delete my first draft which wasn't very nice :( Anyway! I hope you all had a merry christmas and will enjoy the New Year (let's pray it'll be better than the last!0 XD


	39. Cloud City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, I've been busy with exams and other time-consuming tasks over the past two weeks but lo-and-behold this chapter is finally out! Hope everyone has been having a good New Year! Enjoy :)

To the outside eye, one would think Darth Vader had possibly died.

His subordinates, however, knew better. The Dark Lord of the Sith stood at one of the windows, his figure unmoving of even an inch, as he stared out at the clouds surrounding the floating city. What he was doing, none of his men knew— some foolishly speculated that he was sleeping whilst others whispered that he was meditating— the one thing they did know was that when he became so deathly still, like a predator lying in wait, that they should never approach him.

 _Don’t tempt the Krayt Dragon,_ people on Tatooine used to say, _or he might just eat you alive._

Lando Calrissian, on the other hand, had always been known for poking the beast. Some called it arrogance, others called it bravery as he slowly walked up behind the pensive Sith Lord, keeping his head held high.

“Lord Vader.” The Sith Lord didn’t even stir and for a second, Lando allowed some doubt to creep in. But then the sound of Han’s screams replayed in his mind and he knew whether he was making a stupid decision or not, he had to follow through. (He didn’t think he could live with the guilt for much longer). “Lord Vader, when you struck up a deal with Cloud City a few days ago, it was never negotiated nor mentioned that you would imprison two of our citizens.”

Vader finally showed a hint of life, his arm twitching just a fraction, but he neglected to turn and face the man who’d spoken. “Neither Solo nor his Wookie companion are citizens of Bespin, Calrissian. Do not attempt to try and fool me.”

“They are under my protection, Lord Vader.”

“How amusing, Calrissian.” The voice modifier butchered his attempt to sound sarcastically endured. “That sentiment was not felt several days ago when you extended an invitation to Captain Solo that would lead him to my trap.”

Lando took a second to compose himself; he knew it would do neither himself nor Han any good to lash out at a man who could kill them both without even pulling out a weapon. That familiar sense of guilt that had been stuck inside his soul for the past few days, twinged. “I did so under your command, Vader. And you never expressed your reasonings for why you wanted Han in the first place. Had I known, I never would have—“

It was like a lasso wrapped around Lando’s throat, constricting just enough that he was momentarily lost for breath. His eyes bulged as panic settled in, his hands reaching up to his throat but there was nothing there to try and fight off.

“You would be wise not to associate yourself with Solo given his crimes against me, Calrissian.”

Only then did Lando see that despite Vader’s back being turned, his right fist was slightly curled, his fingers in a pinched position. And then Vader’s fist dropped and the constriction upon Lando’s throat disappeared as if it had never been there. It took a second for him to regain his breath, feeling like a thirsty man as he gulped in air the way a drunkard would down his beer.

He wanted to demand that Vader tell him _what_ Han’s crimes were exactly. Lando knew that his friend wasn’t the most law-abiding citizen in the Galaxy but never had the smugger dabbled over the lines of treason. Han simply didn’t care enough about the Empire or the Rebellion to try and make either side take target against him— and Lando knew he especially had never wanted to be on Vader’s hit-list.

Lando couldn’t imagine what Han could have possibly done but he suspected that whatever it had been, it had been bad.

But as much as Lando wanted to try and fix the situation he’d put his friend in, having not known how serious it had been, he knew there was a time and a place for everything. And now was neither. “Very well, Lord Vader.”

With his privacy returned to him, Vader’s gaze went back to staring out the window, waiting for the moment when a ship would break through the white puffiness of the clouds. He knew his message had reached Luke and knowing the boy, if he thought his friend— Vader clenched his fists in anger— was in trouble, then the Sith had no doubt his son would come. And Vader would be ready for when he did.

It hadn’t been difficult to track down the smuggler who’d helped the Rebellion to steal his children. Fett had been only too eager to help given the large sum of credits Vader had sent his way and when ISB had gotten a whiff of Solo, all of his other charges had come to light. Evasion of Imperial troops, smuggling, gambling . . . The list went on and on. Vader shivered every time he thought about the fact that his children had been in the company of a criminal for as long as they had.

But some of that anger eased when Vader thought about how Solo was being punished for his crimes. Calrissian had handed his friend to the Sith on a silver platter and he’d made his _displeasure_ at the man known from the moment they’d met.

 **You’re only pushing them away by hurting someone who helped them.** There was that voice again, the same voice that had been plaguing Vader for months— the one that had been getting louder and dare Vader admit it, stronger. He tried to banish it, to cast it away or let the darkness inside him swarm over it so that it was snubbed out like one would switch off a light. But the voice was like glue, refusing to be shut out whenever his thoughts strayed to his children.

_He is a thief! And his pain is necessary to bring my children to my location._

**You’ve set a trap.**

Vader wished this voice in his head was a physical being. He wished he could lift up his hand and choke the life out of them so all his troubles and woes would disappear. For a second he even imagined it, he imagined the face of his former self gagging, hands wrapped around his throat, his eyes bulging as the anger of the Sith consumed him.

But then that image switched to the memory of a brown haired woman, tears rolling down her cheeks as the air was stolen from her lungs . . . Vader clenched his fist, banishing the memory from his mind.

 **I know you feel remorse,** the voice in his head whispered but to Vader, he may as well be speaking into a microphone. **I know you feel it because I feel it too. Your remorse is my remorse. Your pain is my pain. Your guilt is my guilt. And when will it ever end? When everyone we care about is dead? When the Galaxy is burning at your feet? I didn’t want this—**

 _It is insignificant about what you want._ Vader wondered if he could be considered insane by talking to a voice in his head that resembled the weak fool he’d once been. But the voice in his head didn’t give him any choice; no matter how hard he tried to rid it, it refused to stay away. It refused to be silent.

The voice continued on as if he hadn’t spoken. **I’m the one who let you become this. I’m the one who welcomed the darkness in and I’m the one who’s anger is what birthed you—**

_And then I killed you. So let’s ask ourselves who’s anger takes superiority?_

The voice was silent for a moment. **But _did_ you kill me? I’m still here, am I not?**

_You are weak. You are foolish—_

**And you are leading Luke and Leia into a trap. From my point of view, you’re the foolish one. Your plan for Galactic domination will fail. Palpatine will take the twins from you. He’ll corrupt them. He’ll twist them. He’ll do what he did to me until they become you.**

_Blood is thicker than water,_ Vader sneered. Force, he wished he could siklence this voice. His Master would not be pleased to know that he still heard this voice’s whisperings in his mind. _I am their Father, they will not betray me in such a way._

**And I once believed I would never betray Obi-Wan but look at where we are.**

_That is different—_

**I don’t see a difference.**

_Kenobi was a traitor!_

**There was a traitor, yes, but it wasn’t Obi-Wan.**

Vader curled his metal hands into fists, feeling a sudden surge of anger that he wished to expel onto someone— anyone. Perhaps he should call Calrissian back into the room so he could finish what he’d started— **I know that nothing I say will be able to stop you from setting up a trap for the twins to fall into but remember: that light inside of them won’t stay shining once Palpatine gets his hands on them.**

_They’re MY children. I’ll be the one to train them not my Master. We’ll work together to defeat Sidious and rid the Galaxy of his presence._

**I know you don’t believe that it will be that easy—**

_It will. They’re mine—_

**And they’re _her’s_ too; remember that when you leave them vulnerable to Palpatine’s corruption.**

The voice faded away and for a second, Vader felt nothing. No anger, no hatred, no fear. For a second, he was completely numb, physically cold and left to stew on the voice’s words. And then he felt something: a faint twinge in the corner of his mind, a sense of a bond getting stronger, a bright light shining in his direction.

Pushing his conversation with himself out of his mind, Vader turned on his heel, ready to set his trap.

Luke and Leia had arrived.

* * *

There were a million memories that jumped into Luke’s mind when he thought back to the happier times of his childhood. _A million and one,_ he corrected himself.

It was odd but when Luke’s mind drifted back to those beautiful moments on Naboo, it wasn’t the big events that stuck with him. It wasn’t the memories of his birthdays that jumped out, the taste of cake on his tongue and the air in his lungs ready to blow out his candles, nor his school plays, staying up late to learn lines and his stomach twisting with anxiety. No, the memories that Luke clung to were the quiet ones, the soft ones.

He could remember sitting on the sofa, Obi-Wan sandwiched between him and Leia, an old Holofilm playing in the background, the voices getting quieter and quieter as his eyelids had grown heavy and sleep had tugged at his mind. He could remember how the birds had chirped in the morning, the smell of breakfast wafting through the air to his nose. He could remember the sound of Obi-Wan’s laugh at one of his childish jokes and the way Leia would speak a million words a minute as she recounted her day over dinner, the clinking of cutlery on the plates sounding like a song only they knew.

He could remember dancing around the living room. Swinging on swings in the park, going higher and higher until Obi-Wan told him to stop. Ice cream melting down his hands. Snowflakes landing on his nose. Jumping like a cannonball into the lake. Water fights. Competitive races. Ghost stories.

But as much as Luke looked back on his childhood with fondness, he also saw the cracks that had been breaking under the surface. Cracks that only grew with Obi-Wan’s unrelenting grief, threatening their entire foundation when he told them the truth about what had happened to their father.

Sometimes, when Luke looked back upon his childhood, he wondered if, subconsciously, he’d known that he’d been living on borrowed time. He wondered if the reason behind his adamant attitude to experience every little thing, to enjoy every moment, climbing up every tree he saw and running into every situation headfirst, refusing to let anything stop him, swimming in the lake with his sister as much as possible and running through the Nubian fields, was because he’d known that one day the happy life he’d had would end. That they would become memories and he’d be forced to grow up.

(Luke would forever be grateful to Obi-Wan for giving him a childhood that had been so carefree that the titles of Sith and Jedi had been nothing but meaningless words.)

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Leia’s voice cut into Luke’s thoughts and he wondered for how long he’d been zoned out, his mind having travelled lightyears the second they’d broken through Bespin’s atmosphere. The sight of Cloud City was before them, rendering them both speechless.

The morning sky was unlike anything Luke had ever seen, even on Naboo, even during the summer seasons, when the sun had settled in the sky and it had held a peaceful serenity, it had never looked like this. Cloud City’s sky was a baby blue colour, the different shades of cerulean and azure blending together to create a masterpiece. The clouds were lower down, a magnificent, fluffy and starkly white colour that danced in the sky in a slow waltz.

It looked like it had jumped straight from a painting.

When Luke didn’t reply, Leia let out a tiny sigh, her eyes glued to the view. She didn’t know what drove her to speak, all she knew were that the words fell out her mouth as if they _needed_ to be spoken.

“Back on Alderaan, I used to wake up early and watch the sunrise— there was something so calming about it that it slowly became a tradition. I’d watch as the sky grew lighter and the colour changed, fading and birthing new ones, and in those few hours, when it felt like everyone else was asleep, I would feel so connected to the planet— as if I were a part of it. And then, just around the time that I would actually be expected to wake, the sky would settle on this baby blue and I would stare up at it and feel this sense of . . . tranquility.”

Luke turned his head to look at his sister. Leia’s eyes were wide as she took in the beautiful sky before them; he could see the pain on her face, less raw than he’d seen before, but there was something written across her features that he hadn’t seen before, something which took a second for him to place.

Acceptance.

A small smile came across Leia’s lips as she turned her head to meet Luke’s gaze. “I’ve never told anyone that before.”

“I wish I could have seen it, just once. I know I would’ve loved it.”

Leia hummed. “There wasn’t much to not like.” There was a pause. “What were you thinking about before? You zoned out so much it was as if your spirit left your body.”

Luke cracked a smile, his eyes back on the sky as he gripped the controls a little tighter, navigating the ship to where the city floated up ahead. There was a feeling in Luke’s mind that told him this was the calm before the storm. “I was thinking about Naboo.”

The past few months had been hard on both of them. They’d been forced to grow up, even if just a little, and they’d both taken on bigger responsibilities than they’d ever had before. Leia, especially, had fit into her role as a Rebel leader-in-training with perfect ease. But when she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper, it reminded Luke that underneath her General-like disposition and wise beyond her years attitude, she was just the same as him: young and sometimes afraid, even if neither of them would admit it.

It also reminded Luke that he was one of the only people in the Galaxy who saw this side in his sister. “I miss it.”

“We’ll go back one day,” Luke found himself believing his words. “I’m sure of it.”

Leia rolled her eyes. “When we’re old and grey, maybe.”

“When all of this is over, Leia, we’ll go back.”

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Luke knew the second the words had left his mouth that he was going to regret it. Something angry flashed across his sister’s features and her hands curled up into fists in her lap. “You say that as is _all of this_ is going to end soon. Face it, Luke, this our life: running from the Empire, hiding from our Sith Lord Father, fighting for a cause that will always be severely outnumbered. The Emperor is never going to pardon us, he’s never going to not want our blood and Vader, whether his intentions vary from Emperor’s or not, will never stop reaching out to us. We’re always going to be looking over our shoulders, always short-staffed on who to trust and never feeling like we have a stable place in the Galaxy.”

Leia crossed her arms over her chest, taking a second to collect herself. She did what Master Yoda had told her once in the swampy plains on Dagobah: _breathe_ , he’d said, _out and in._ When she felt her frustration had left her, she spoke once again. “We aren’t returning to Naboo in a long time.”

Silence followed her words. The twins stared out at the looming city that was approaching too quickly for either of their tastes (subconsciously, Luke slowed the speed of the ship— he didn’t even realise he’d done it until his fingers unwrapped around the speed control).

“Do you believe in fate?”

He’d been thinking about it for a while now, his mind whirring over the idea every night he struggled to sleep, every spare minute being consumed by the thoughts.

Leia shrugged. “No, not really.”

Luke had guessed that would be her answer. “I do.”

When he offered no further explanation, Leia struggled to contain her aggravated sigh. It was just like Luke to start a conversation then expect her to throw him a bone in order to end it. “And why is that, Luke?”

“Because I think that a lot of things have gone wrong in our lives— a lot of things which have been out of our control. We were born just days after the Republic fell, our Father turned and then our Mother died . . . And yet, throughout all of it, we’ve had each other.”

Leia’s eyebrow rose. “So you believe it was fate that our Father turned to the Dark Side? It was our Mom’s fate to die?”

“No— you’re missing the point,” Luke shook his head. “I believe that people are faced with choices, whether it be what clothes they want to wear or if they want to join the Sith, and every choice people make then has repercussions, some small and some of Galactic proportions.”

Leia still couldn’t see where Luke was going with his point. It was at moments like now that she realised her brother really hadn’t inherited the diplomatic, perfect speech-giving gene from their Mother. (Leia, on the other hand, was pleased where that gene had skipped Luke, it had gone to her.)

“I still don’t understand—“

“Did you know that humans are one of the least likely species in the entire Galaxy to have multiple births in one pregnancy?” Luke carried on, as if he hadn’t heard her. “The numbers of twins or triplets, etcetera, born to humans in a year is one of the lowest compared to other species which almost double the number of births.”

“So,” Leia finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes Luke’s ramblings made her lose track of what his end-goal was. She’d always felt sorry for their teachers whenever her brother handed in an essay, knowing the majority of it would be waffle. “You believe in fate because we were born as twins?”

Luke pulled a face, proving to Leia that whilst she was close, she still hadn’t understood what he’d been trying to say entirely. “I believe in fate because I think that with everything that had happened to us, with how the Galaxy crumbled and our family was torn apart, we were born as twins because the Force knew we would need each other.”

Leia paused, letting Luke’s words sink in. There was a beautiful meaning behind them, a meaning which, for a second, caused her to forget the emotional pain that always lingered in her heart. She’d never had a mother, not really— she’d never seen Breha as one— and every father figure she’d ever had had either been torn from her or was now dead but throughout it all, every step of the way, if a million lightyears apart, had been Luke. Her brother was the only person she could open up to completely, who knew her better than she knew herself, who she’d told all her secrets too and would take every single one of them to his grave.

“In that case,” Leia smiled ever so slightly. “I guess I believe in fate too, even if just a little bit.”

Luke’s sentiment was nicer than the idea that they’d been born as twins because they’d hit the luck of the draw. It made her feel _seen_. Taken into consideration. As if a power bigger than them had seen their future struggles and given them a reason to keep on fighting.

(Leia fought for the Rebellion because she wanted the Empire’s tyrannical rule to end. She fought for Alderaan. For those who were too scared. For those who couldn’t. She fought for Rex, who’d been engineered from before-birth to act as a pawn to an evil mastermind. She fought for Ahsoka, whose whole life had been turned upside down. She fought for Obi-Wan, who’d lost everything and yet had stayed strong for them. But most importantly, she fought for Luke, so the Dark Side could never again threaten to steal him away.)

“Do you ever wonder about what would’ve happened to us had we been separated at birth?” The words felt wrong on her tongue. “Do you ever wonder about if we would’ve ever discovered the truth? Or if we would’ve even met?”

“We would’ve—“

“You can’t promise that,” Leia didn’t mean to sound as harsh as she ended up being. She didn’t know why she was dwelling on such matters, after all, it didn’t matter, right? Except it mattered to her. Luke’s idea of fate had opened up a can of worms. “I would’ve been on Alderaan and you on Tatooine. We would’ve grown up on opposite sides of the Galaxy— how could we have possibly crossed paths?”

Luke didn’t let up on his resolve. “We would’ve.”

“Even if we had crossed paths,” Leia allowed him a small victory. “We wouldn’t have known the truth. We would’ve walked right past each other, having no idea that we share blood. We would’ve just been strangers.”

“We would’ve been friends.”

“You can’t promise that!”

“Yes, I can.” There was something so serious in Luke’s voice that made Leia pause, even feeling inclined to believe him. “It doesn’t matter that we would’ve been raised lightyears apart, we would’ve found our way back to each other, I know it. I would’ve still been a dreamer and you would’ve been the hard-nose realist that you are now. We may not have met each other and discovered the truth immediately but we would’ve still been two sides of the same coin, complimentary opposites of one another. We would’ve been friends.”

Leia watched as her brother landed the ship on Cloud City’s landing pad, knowing their time of peace had come to an end. They were back doing what they’d grown accustomed to in the past few months: jumping straight into the action. But something about their discussion calmed Leia.

She liked the idea that, no matter what, no matter if they’d been separated at birth, they would have always found each other— and that they would’ve always been friends.

Leia imagined a version of herself, a little older, possibly nineteen, meeting Luke for the first time, feeling as if that hole in her chest finally closed and the last jigsaw piece slid into place. She imagined a version of herself not knowing why she felt so connected to the blonde haired boy from a backwater planet or why it felt so easy to talk to him, spilling secrets she’d not told anyone. She imagined this version of herself, a Princess in not just name, staring into her unbeknownst brother’s eyes and feeling as if she’d seen that shade of blue before, possibly from a dream.

As they prepared to leave the ship, ready to face their Sith Lord father, Leia found herself truly believing in Luke’s statement about fate.

* * *

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Luke whispered as a shiver ran down his spine. Something felt wrong— Cloud City was far too quiet and eerie for his liking. They’d been expecting a hostile welcome from the Imperial forces they were sure were occupying this city and yet they’d been met with nothing.

For a little over ten minutes they’d been stalking the pristine, white halls of Cloud City, their guards up, searching for the location they could hazily sense Han in, and had yet to see even a flash of a trooper’s armour. Cloud City was silent, the corridors bare and it eerily felt devoid of life. It reminded Luke more of a creepy, abandoned building than a lively, populated city.

Leia felt an understanding in the Force, her fears being realised. “This is a trap.”

Luke pulled a face, keeping his grip on their father’s former lightsaber strong and steady— Ahsoka had said that this weapon was his life and when faced with the prospect of a Sith, Luke readily believed her. “But the trap would’ve been getting us to arrive on Bespin,” he paused. “Where’s the Stormtrooper garrison? I can sense Father is here but he’s distant, as if he’s purposely staying away.”

“Don’t complain about that,” Leia sighed. “If we can complete this rescue mission without crossing paths with Vader then perhaps our luck will’ve turned.”

They both knew, however, that such a thing would be a miracle. And they hadn’t had such luck in months— possibly, years.

“Can you sense Han?” Leia whispered when they’d turned another empty corridor, hearing no sound of approaching footsteps or seeing any sign of life. There weren’t even droids roaming around— it was starting to freak the twins out.

Luke nodded in reply, pointing to a set of doors up ahead. When Leia reached out with the Force, for the first time since they’d landed on Cloud City’s landing pad, she sensed the presence of life. It took only a second for the Force to confirm that it was Han and Chewbacca inside that room, their presences were slightly muffled, as if asleep, but she knew it was them. So, Luke’s vision had been correct. Leia had to remind herself to stay calm as a wave of anger rushed through her; how dare Vader harm an innocent— okay, so Han isn’t exactly _the most_ innocent person ever but he didn’t deserve this— just so he could manipulate them into crossing paths.

A sudden tingling at the back of her neck had Leia reaching out a hand to pull herself and Luke against the starkly, white wall, the Force telling her that something was approaching from the corner up ahead. She couldn’t sense any life par Han and Chewie but they still raised their weapons, Luke his lightsaber and Leia her blaster, expecting some sort of altercation to commence.

A cleaning mouse droid came shooting around the corner, paying no attention to the armed Luke and Leia. It moved absent-mindedly, being careful to avoid their feet as it spun across the floor until it was out of sight.

Luke couldn’t help the teasing smirk that warped his face, giving his sister a little nudge. “You’re too on edge.”

“Can you blame me? This place is creepy! That cave on Dagobah was less eerie than this place.”

“I wonder if the city was evacuated?”

Leia crossed her arms over her chest, relaxing her defensive stance— Luke was right, she _was_ too on edge. Bail had once said that whilst it was good to keep your guard it, it didn’t do well to become jumpy. _You become jumpy,_ he’d said once with a grave look, _then you start become trigger-happy, which never bodes well for anyone._

Her fingers uncurled, ever so slightly, from the blaster in her hand. “If it was then that probably isn’t a good sign.”

Luke made a noise, sounding as if he agreed with her, as they finally reached the door locking Han and Chewie inside. It didn’t take very long for him to crack the code, stepping back when the mechanics unlocked and the metal slab _whooshed_ open. They waited a second at the entrance, weapons slightly raised, expecting some sort of resistance. Would the troopers come rushing in now they’d succeeded in breaking out a prisoner— well, half-breaking out a prisoner, they still needed to get back to their ship and leave the system for it to be a complete success.

But nothing came. No pounding of feet approaching, no flash of white armour, no heavy breathing or humming of lightsabers.

The rescue mission was running too smoothly for either twin to actually feel a sort of achievement as they stepped into the room where Han was being held.

It was dark inside, even with the light from the corridor shining through, they still had to squint to see. The room was circular, that much they could tell, with slabs of metal for beds and from the far right slab, they could see the vague lump of a man who softly groaned, being pulled from sleep.

“Han—“ Before Luke could take another step forward, two large and hairy hands— or were they paws?— grabbed the twins by the backs of their clothes, pulling them up above the ground, their legs dangling too far away to kick their attacker. Both Luke and Leia screamed, suddenly caught off-guard, but their yells were drowned out by the familiar sounding roar.

“Chewie!” Leia groaned, her legs kicking wildly in the air to no avail. She had her hands wrapped around the Wookie’s paw but his grip was too hard and she couldn’t break free from his hold. “Put us down! Chewie!”

The Wookie roared again but this time, a little confusion broke in.

The vague lump of a man rose from the metal slab in the corner, stumbling on uncertain legs. “Will you keep it down fuzzball?” Han’s voice was low, as if he were nursing a terrible hangover. “A few prisoners are trying to sleep here.”

Chewie roared yet again, making Han flinch in the darkness. He had one hand over his eyes, the other bracing himself the edge of his bed. “Chewie, seriously—“

“Han!” Luke’s yell made the elder man freeze, straightening up. “Han! Tell him to put us down! Chewie, come on, put us down!” The Wookie’s hold, however, didn’t fault, not even with the twins twisting and turning, trying to break free and be put back down on the ground.

“Kid?” There was an element of incredulity in Han’s tone, broken only when the man stepped closer, a little more into the light, his features morphing from shock to confusion as he saw Luke and Leia with his own eyes. “What are you— Chewie, put them down! These are those kids we picked up from Tatooine!”

Chewbacca let out a quieter roar, one which Leia interpreted to be an apology, as he set them down on the ground once more. She instantly moved so there was some space between herself and the Wookie, not wanting to be found in the same humiliating situation again.

“What in the spinning Galaxy are you doing here, kid?”

To say Han looked like poodoo was an understatement. His hair was in disarray, there were bags under his eyes and his clothes were scruffier than normal. And from the way he was slouched, it didn’t take a genius to see he was in pain.

Once again, Leia felt a flare of anger at what her father had done— _no_ , she corrected her. This wasn’t there work of her father. This was the work of a Sith.

“Han!” Luke rushed forward, stopping when the man held out a palm to get him to stop. It was written across the smuggler’s face that he was in a great deal of discomfort. “We’re here to rescue you!”

Even locked in an Imperial cell, the arrogance Leia had grown to associate only with Han flared up. “Rescue _me_? I don’t know what ever you mean, I’m just enjoying myself here at this five star hotel resort.”

She rolled her eyes, unable to pinpoint why his sarcasm grated at her nerves. “Listen here flyboy, you either come with us now or we’ll leave you here at this— what did you call it? Five star hotel resort.”

Han’s eyes met Leia’s, a sarcastic smile spreading across his face. “Oh I’ve missed our chats, Your Highness.” Again, Leia rolled her eyes.

“Han,” Luke’s voice was suddenly more serious. “We need to leave. We came here to rescue you, we won’t leave without you.”

‘ _Speak for yourself,’_ Leia spoke through their bond.

‘ _Shut up.’_

“How’d you even know Chewie and I were here?” Chewie let out a roar, as if asking the same question. One of Han’s eyebrows were cocked up, looking at the twins with unease.

‘ _Go on Luke,’_ Leia goaded. ‘ _Tell him how you saw a magical vision through the Force.’_

_‘You can be a real Hutt at times, Leia.’_

“I, uh,” Luke coughed. “Lucky guess, I guess.”

“In all my years of smuggling, there’s one thing I’ve learnt, kid: there ain’t no such thing as luck.”

Leia rolled her eyes for what felt like the millionth time. _‘Great! So we travelled all the way here, potentially risked our necks, and he doesn’t even want to go with us!’_

Luke couldn’t help but feel his sister’s agitation. He’d been right, Han had been here on Cloud City, being used as a pawn by their father for unfair reasons and yet throughout all his brief plans concocted in order to stage the rescue attempt, Luke had never imagined if Han would be willing to go with them or not. He realised now that he’d underestimated Han’s ability to be vexing. Or was it more aggravation?

All Luke knew, now, was that they were running out of time and they couldn’t leave Han here. “Han, do you trust us?”

“Kid, trust doesn’t exactly come easy to me. Don’t take it personally—“

“Han, I _need_ you to trust us.”

“That’s a rather heavy ask, kid. Don’t go getting greedy now—“

“Time’s running out,” Luke snapped, his usually slow burning patience finally reaching the end. Even Leia raised an eyebrow at his tone. “We need to leave! You need to come with us—“

“That was always my plan, kid,” Han huffed a laugh, wincing slightly when his side let out a sharp pain. “I may not be the trusting type but I ain’t stupid. I’ve never been the one for five star hotels, they’re too gaudy for my tastes.” Chewie let out a roar, making Han groan. “That doesn’t count Chewie.” The Wookie roared again. “Because we broke in, fuzzball!”

Rolling her eyes, Leia unhooked the spare blaster she’d been carrying on her hip. She shoved it in Han’s direction. “Take this so you don’t get yourself killed.”

“How kind of you, Your Highness.”

The look Leia gave Han would make men with less arrogance than him cower. But Han seemed to revel in her annoyance. “You call me _Your Highness_ one more time and we’ll leave you here.” She threatened.

_‘Leia! Don’t say that!’_

Han feigned innocence. “And ruin your perfect escape plan? I couldn’t do that after all the hard-work you’ve put in.” He paused, a shit eating grin coming across his face. “ _Princess_.”

Luke had to jump forward, putting himself between his sister and Han when Leia’s face contorted with anger, her hands rolling up into fists by her side. He knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t hesitate to give the smuggler a black eye and whilst Luke knew Han was purposely aggravating Leia, he also knew they were just distracting themselves from their shared goal: escape. Han and Leia could fight as much as they wanted when they were back on their ship but for now, they needed to work together. Luke just about said as much to them.

“We have no hope in escaping if we’re attempting to fight off Stormtroopers _and_ ourselves,” he finished, earning a supportive roar from Chewie.

As much as Leia wanted to see her fist meet Han’s eye in one perfect swing, she also knew her brother was right. “Fine.”

Chewie roared, causing Han to shush him. “Yeah, yeah, Chewie, we’re leaving now, hold onto your fur.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

Luke shared a look with his sister as they left the detention cell. They both had the feeling that it wasn’t going to be as easy trying to leave as it was sneaking in.

* * *

Just as they’d expected, mere moments after they’d broken Han out of his detention cell, the marching boots of troopers had echoed down the hall. Within seconds, they’d been surrounded, all possible routes of escape blocked by white armour that lined up against them, blasters raised.

“By order of Lord Vader you are to come with us right now,” one of the trooper’s announced.

“Yeah, well why don’t you tell Vader that he can—“ both Luke and Leia’s eyes widened as Han listed a string of insults that they were sure every adult who’d raised them wouldn’t be pleased about them hearing. (Leia committed a few insults to memory, having to bite down on a laugh).

“You can either come quietly or by force, Rebel scum.”

Han’s scowl deepened, his voice itching towards exasperation. “How many times do I have to tell you bucket-heads that I ain’t no Rebel!” Chewie let out a loud roar, throwing his hands up in the air. A few of the troopers took a step back but their formation was never broken. “That’s right,” Han nodded in the Wookie’s direction. “You tell ‘em, Chewie!”

The Stormtrooper who’d been addressing them suddenly stepped forward, his blaster raised at Han’s head. Han, in return, lifted his own blaster at the trooper. What followed next was what Leia had once heard be called a _perfect standoff_ : every other Stormtrooper suddenly had their blasters raised in their— well, mostly Han’s— direction.

 _‘Do you think we can take them?’_ Luke whispered across his bond to his sister, his grip on his lightsaber becoming so tight that his knuckles were turning white.

Leia mentally counted how many troopers there were. There were just under three dozen white armoured soldiers standing around them, all armed and all ready to shoot. As much as Leia liked to believe in her abilities, she also knew they would be pushing it a bit to engage in a fight when they were so heavily outnumbered. Maybe if they’d both had lightsabers it would’ve been different but with only two blasters and one laser sword between them, she hated to admit that the Stormtroopers were more likely to be the victors.

“Hold the fire!” A new voice joined the fray, managing to squeeze in between the formation of troopers, his hands raised up in the air to try and signal peace. “Let’s not get too trigger-happy now, I don’t want my floors to be stained red.”

Han let out a loud, unimpressed sigh. “Lando.”

“Han.”

“I knew we had some bad blood between us but this is a new low.”

The man, Lando, let out a forced laugh, his face conveying none of the guilt which Leia could feel consuming him through the Force. “Don’t be like that, old friend!”

Han scoffed, starting to wave his arm around before wincing with pain. (A look of guilt finally crossed Lando’s features). “Don’t _old friend_ me, Lando!” Han waved a finger in Lando’s direction. “You sold me out!”

Chewie let out a loud roar which made Lando wince. “Alright, Chewie! It wasn’t like that, I didn’t know—“

“Yada yada,” Han rolled his eyes. “I know you were mad about the _Falcon_ but there are other ways to make your displeasure known.”

“Wait,” Leia snapped her fingers, memories about their conversations on the _Millennium Falcon_ rushing back to her. “This is _Lando_ — the one who you won your eyesore of a ship from!”

( _“So where did the Millennium Falcon come from? You build her or—?”_

_“Won her in a game of saabac.”_

_“Who was stupid enough to bet a ship in the game of sabaac?”_

_“I’ll tell Lando that the next time I see him.”)_

“Oi,” Han rounded on Leia, his finger waggling in her direction this time. “You’re on thin ice, Princess.”

The infamous Lando, who Leia had never felt an urge to meet before, chuckled despite the situation. “So you’ve seen the _Falcon_ , I’m guessing. She never was much to look at but Force, does she have some speed.”

Luke shrugged. “Han said she made the Kessel run in thirteen parsecs—“

“ _Twelve_ parsecs, kid; give her some credit.”

One of the troopers to the left of Lando made a noise, bringing their conversation to an end. With a heavy sigh, Lando turned back to the twins, Chewie and Han, his expression suddenly grave. “Lord Vader is requesting your presence, I suggest you comply or things might get nasty.”

“Things will _be_ nasty if we go to Vader, you mean,” Han’s voice dipped, going dangerously low.

“Han—“

“Lando.”

Lando sighed once more, obviously torn. He leaned in closer, talking in a conspiratorial tone. “Look, Han, I’m doing all I can here, can you at least _try_ to not be your cocky self? Can you just go along with what I’m asking so I can help you?” Chewie roared loudly, making Lando roll his eyes. “Come on, Chewie! I’m trying my best!” The Wookie roared once more, making Han cross his arms over his chest and nod.

“I agree with Chewie on this.”

“Han!”

“We should do what he says,” Luke’s voice broke through the old friend’s argument, sounding a little too resigned for Leia’s liking. Han was looking at him incredulously but the boy ignored him. “We’re only delaying the inevitable. We’ll bargain for your freedom, Han, I promise.”

“And _how_ are you going to do that?”

Luke and Leia shared a grim look. Perhaps it had been wishful thinking to actually believe they could run straight into the trap the Sith had set up and manage to avoid their father entirely. They’d known from the minute they’d left Endor that this would be the outcome. They were going to face their father once again, yet this time there would be no last minute escape or quick getaways.

“Because,” Luke inhaled deeply as the troopers began to lead them to where the Sith awaited. “He’ll listen to us.”

* * *

He’d never been one for patience. Through maturity, however, Vader had come to learn that such a skill often paid off in the end, yet he still found it difficult to master. Especially when he could sense the presences of his children mere metres from him, knowing that after weeks of wild goose chases, they would finally be standing before him.

And there would be no escape— there would be no last-minute help from the Jedi. His men surrounded Cloud City and even the daring abilities of his children were outmatched by sheer force of numbers.

Vader watched as the doors to the carbon-freezing chamber opened up, the white armour of his men suddenly pouring in like a wave, their blasters all held tightly in their hands as they surrounded the five people he’d requested be brought to him. Out of the five, only Calrissian was free from the shackles of binders and whilst it angered Vader to see his children being led towards him as if they were mere prisoners, he also knew it was necessary. Luke and Leia had proved themselves to be too cunning in the past for binders not to be a requirement.

He didn’t say anything as they were led up onto the platform where Vader stood, hands clasped behind his back, the two carbon-freezing pods smoking from the floor between them. One of the trooper’s stepped forward, offering the lightsaber he’d known Luke had brought along with him and as Vader held it in his hand, he was overcome with a wave of reminiscence. His former weapon still fit in his hand like a glove, just as heavy as he remembered it being.

“The prisoners just as you requested, sir,” the trooper who’d given him the lightsaber bowed his helmet in a jerky manner, taking a few steps back so he was in line with the others.

“Lord Vader—“

“I am in no mood to hear your pitiful words, Calrissian,” Vader’s voice boomed over Lando’s attempt to speak. The man immediately shut up, having finally learnt his place.

Solo twitched, displaying no fear upon his face as he glared at the Sith Lord. “Now, what is this about?” The Wookie by his side roared but Vader ignored them both. He could sense their confusion in the Force— of course, they didn’t know why they were really here. He’d not even said a word to Solo since the man had been shackled up several days ago.

Instead, Vader cast his masked gaze upon his children, both of whom looked equally unpleased to see him. But they looked healthy, which Vader guessed was enough.

“You were foolish to come here.”

Luke shifted under his gaze, his head lifting the smallest fraction in an act Vader knew to be one that signified defiance. He looked suddenly older than his tender sixteen years when he squared his shoulders in the manner he did now— Vader didn’t like it at all. “You shouldn’t have done this.”

“Your naivety truly knows no limits.”

“We could say the same about your wanton need for violence,” Leia bit back, her words as sharp as ever. She didn’t appear to be fazed by the fact that her hands were clasped in binders, she’d been unarmed and that there were over a dozen Stormtroopers surrounding them in the carbon-freezing chamber.

Vader wondered what his men must be thinking as they listened to the previously-titled Princess of Alderaan talk back to the Dark Lord of the Sith in such a way.

He knew he didn’t have to explain himself yet he found himself doing it anyway. “My actions were necessary to bring you here. You would not have come otherwise.”

“There were other ways,” Luke argued back, his naivety getting the better of him. “Ways that didn’t involve harming innocents—“

If Vader could have scoffed, he would’ve. “Solo is a _criminal_ , he is hardly an innocent.”

The man in question rolled his eyes. “I’m standing right here, ya know.”

Vader couldn’t help the flare of anger that rose up in him when the smuggler spoke. Force, he _hated_ that man. First, he’d stolen his children from him. And now he dared to act cocky. If Luke and Leia weren’t standing right there, he would’ve reached out and used the Force to snap the criminal’s neck. “Be appreciative that you do not find yourself already dead, Solo.”

“Don’t threaten him!” Luke suddenly yelled, that petulant tone Vader had grown very used to in the last five years making a reappearance.

He pointed a finger in his son’s direction. He may have tolerated the petulance in private but in the presence of his men he had to uphold his dignity. “Enough. Your ill temper will not be tolerated in my presence.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “It’s a bit hypocritical for _you_ of all people to talk about ill tempers, don’t you think?”

The troopers in the room shifted, as if they were preparing themselves for what they believed was next to occur. And yet, instead of the flaming anger, the raised hand and the echo of choking of noises filling the room, the only sound that followed Luke’s remark was the heavy sigh Vader’s voice modifier butchered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Calrissian’s wide-eyed, horrified gaze. It was probably the first time the man had ever heard someone address a Sith Lord in such a way— and survive.

“Lord Vader,” Calrissian stepped forward once his shock had died down. Vader wondered if he’d been waiting those few seconds before speaking to see if Luke would collapse on the ground. “Whatever crime Han committed, I believe we can find a matter to resolve it—“

“He didn’t commit any crime,” Leia rebuked, crossing her arms over her chest. “Well, that’s not entirely true,” she backtracked. “His imprisonment has no connection to any possible crime.”

Vader growled, pointing his finger at his daughter this time. “He is a kidnapper!”

At his words, all five of the people standing before him burst into life. The Wookie roared, the twins rolled their eyes and Solo started to wave his shackled hands together. “Whoah! Whoah! _Kidnap_?”

“I can assure you Lord Vader, Han is no kidnapper!” Calrissian sounded adamant, not even a flicker of doubt resting in his mind.

“Where the kriff has kidnap come from?”

“Han, shut up!”

“Thanks for the friendly advice, _Lando_ , but I think I’ll pass. _Kidnap_?! I don’t know who told you that lie, your Dark Lordliness, but I ain’t no—“

Luke let out a loud groan, cutting the smuggler off. “He didn’t kidnap us! Is that why you imprisoned him? You thought Han _abducted_ us?”

“ _You_?” If it were possible, Han looked even more baffled. He stared at the twins as if they’d grown second heads. “What in the kriff is going on—“

“ _We_ were the ones who approached Han,” Luke carried on, letting the truth about the matter flow across his bond to his father. He wanted Vader to sense the honesty in his words. Maybe then, he’d let Han go. “ _We_ solicited him for a flight off Tatooine. He didn’t kidnap us!”

“He aided you in your defection to the Rebellion. _That_ is a crime.”

This time, Leia rolled her eyes. “He did so unknowingly.” Okay, so Han had known they’d been running away to join the Rebellion and he’d followed through on the deal but he’d only discovered that mid-flight. It hadn’t been like he’d taken the job _for_ the Rebellion.

Luke nodded. “We paid him— it was just a buisness deal on Han’s behalf, he had no idea who we were or the reason for why we were heading to our destination.”

“Yeah a buisness deal you swindled me on,” Han was unable to help himself from adding. “I’m still waiting on the rest of the credits you owe me, kid.”

Lando shot his friend a glare. “Han, _shut_ up.”

“Let him go,” Luke stepped forward, his voice dipping as he addressed his father with a hidden plea in his tone. “He didn’t do anything wrong. Your imprisonment of him is unjust and cruel—“

“I have not been known for my benevolence, son.”

Han jumped as if he’d been electrocuted. His eyes widened as he turned his head from the Sith Lord to the squirming twins, his mouth agape. It was obvious that the cogs in his mind were whirring, piecing the puzzle together. “You— him— you’re _Vader’s_ kids?!” Even Lando was staring at Luke and Leia with such incredulity.

Leia sounded bitter when she spoke. “It isn’t something we like to throw around.”

“Oh, now it all makes sense! I knew you kids were trouble!”

“And yet you still did business with us anyway?” Leia gave him an unimpressed look, her eyes narrowing in the smuggler’s direction. Han, however, just shrugged, in such a nonchalant way that it made Leia’s annoyance flare.

“A smuggler’s gotta make a living, Princess.”

“Seriously Han,” Lando sounded as if he were on his last nerve. “Shut up.” Chewie roared in agreement.

“Father,” Luke addressed Vader once again, using the man’s name now that the Bantha had been let out of the bag. “Let him go. You have us now, which is what you wanted. He didn’t abduct us— let him go.”

Vader hesitated. His original plan had been to push Solo and his Wookie companion into the carbon-freezing pods that rested on the floor between them. Who knew, maybe he could’ve sold the smuggler as a wall decoration? He’d heard that the Hutts had unorthodox artistic tastes. But at Luke’s words, he reconsidered. Perhaps it would be a bad idea to harm Solo even further and risk his children turning against him. It would bode better for his plan of a Galactic takeover if they actually trusted and, even just partially, liked him.

He motioned for one of his troopers to step forward. “Take Solo and the Wookie back to their cell. His freedom shall be granted when I leave the system. I suggest you keep your _friend_ in line, Calrissian, I will not be so lenient if our paths cross again.”

The relief fell of Lando in waves. “Very well, Lord Vader,” he bowed as the troopers tugged at Han’s binders, retreating out of the chambers. But Han didn’t seem very pleased, he kept tugging against the Stormtrooper’s hold, his head craning back to look at the twins.

“Wait— what about the them? Kid? Let them go— Kid! Wait! What’s going to happen to them— Don’t you dare hurt—“

The doors to the carbon-freezing chamber slammed shut, cutting off Han’s yells and Chewie’s roars. The twins turned back to Vader, a heavy silence weighing them down.

“Congratulations,” Luke’s voice was cold, his miserable expression so unlike the happy one Vader wished he could see. “We fell right into your trap. You’ve won.”

Despite himself, Vader let out a long, weary sigh. He’d not missed Luke’s self-depreciative attitude. “And yet I find little reason to celebrate.”

Vader would never admit it but he was tried— oh so very tired. He was exhausted from the worry that had been plaguing him ever since he’d left Jiroch; ever since he’d gone to his quarters and discovered that life-shattering message from Luke— _I’ll miss you Dad, I love you._ He was weary from running around the Galaxy, chasing after the children who wanted nothing to do with him. He didn’t want to be here on Bespin, standing before his twins as if they were his prisoners, which, in a way, they were.

(This wasn’t the life he’d imagined when he’d first pictured the idea of his family, back when he’d been foolish and Padme had looked so worried, the words _Ani, I’m pregnant_ having forced his mind to go numb before panic had settled in, followed by a flood of happiness.)

“We won’t come willingly.”

Leia spoke the words with upmost certainty, her voice dripping in acid as she glared at her father from across the chamber’s platform. Between them, the two carbon-freezing holes made threatening noises, little puffs of smoke billowing up, but she refused to be intimidated. Her blaster had been confiscated and Anakin’s lightsaber hung from Vader’s belt but Leia stayed strong in the fact that defenceless or not, she would still cause Hell should Vader try and get them to leave with him.

“No, I don’t suppose you will,” Vader crooned. “Perhaps an incentive?”

Luke made a vague noise of annoyance and Leia’s eyes narrowed even more— honestly, Vader had no idea how he’d not realised that Leia was his daughter before the truth had been revealed on the Death Star. Even ignoring the fact that she a dead-ringer for his late wife, although Leia’s features had a hardened edge which Padme’s softness had never had, there was so much _Skywalker_ -ness in her that Vader felt like a fool to have not seen it. The angry expression upon her face, the bark in her voice, the venom in her words . . . it was all him. Or at the very least, who he’d used to of been.

All those years under Bail’s tutelage, all those years of intense Princess training, the etiquette lessons, the lectures about social manners, it hadn’t been able to beat the Skywalker out of his daughter.

This was proven when her frown deepened, her words coming out like a smite. “Nothing you say will _ever_ make us want to join you!”

“Is that so?”

Leia crossed her arms over her chest. They were outnumbered. If Vader wanted them to come with him, it wouldn’t take much physical effort on his part. Yet she kept her head held high, refusing to show any fear. She could feel Luke beside her, doing the same.

“Father,” Luke took a tentative step forward. “We keep on going round in circles, aren’t you tired of this? We’ve made it clear that we don’t want to join the Sith; by you pushing this expectation on us, you’re only pushing us away! I just want you to be my _father_.”

Anger flared up inside Vader, strong enough that both Luke and Leia felt it, the both of them instantly flinching. Luke’s step forward was followed by several moving back, a flash of fear showing in his eyes. “And yet you ran from me in the first place, son,” his voice dripped with the same venom as Leia’s had only moments ago. Yet his were far more murderous.

“I ran from the _Emperor_.”

“You join me now and we can rid the Galaxy of Sidious’ presence,” once again, he offered his hand. _Take it,_ he hissed across the Force.

 **They don’t want to.** Vader almost let out a scream in frustration— why did that voice have to return now? Just when he needed his concentration to win his children over to his side, that voice had decided now was the perfect time to test his patience.

“And by doing so, we’ll have to succumb to the Dark Side!”

Vader clenched his fists. “There are worse sacrifices to be made.”

**I wouldn’t call damning your soul a _sacrifice_.**

_What would you know?_

**Trust me, I _know_.**

“There’s no greater sacrifice than giving up your soul,” Leia hissed.

“Even if the consequence is death?”

His daughter, so alike her mother in terms of confidence and morality, raised her chin a little higher. She looked suddenly regal, so much like the Princess he’d see on the Holonet occasionally and pay no heed to. “I would happily accept death if it meant I didn’t turn into a monster.”

 _No._ Vader’s fists clenched even harder, to the point that he felt his metallic figures start to break through the leather of his glove. “That is unacceptable.”

Leia scoffed, her voice suddenly incredulous. “It’s unacceptable that I would rather die a _good_ _person_? It’s unacceptable that I don’t wish to see myself become a person who revels in the pain of others? Who hurts the people they care about?”

That had been a personal dig. And Force, had it hit its mark.

**You know as well as I that should the twins succumb to the Dark, they won’t be the same people who stand before you right now.**

Vader growled, Force darn that infernal voice! _Blood is thicker than water, it will prevail against all._

The voice actually paused for the first time. But when it spoke, there was an element of horror. **Blood is not thicker than the Dark Side.** There was an element of finality to the voice’s tone which rattled Vader to his core but he brushed it aside. He would prove to that voice that such a thing were not the case. Luke and Leia will join him at his side and as a family they would rule the Galaxy with the justness missing from Palpatine’s reign.

“I know why you turned.”

It was like ice being poured down his suit. Vader froze, his masked gaze meeting Leia’s slightly cautious expression. The anger from before was gone, replaced by trepidation. Funny, how when she was no longer glaring, she looked younger.

“Leia—“ Luke’s hesitancy, the warning in his tone, was ignored by his sister.

“I know why you did what you did: why you became _this_.”

The anger coiled up inside him like a beast, gnashing its jaws and preparing to pounce. But he held it at bay, his voice dropping dangerously low. “I suggest you precede with caution, daughter.”

“Or what?” Yes, she was definitely the daughter of Skywalker; he remembered being just as infuriating during his teenage years as Leia was now. “You’ll choke me again?”

Instant guilt flooded over him like a tsunami, putting out the flames of his anger. _A Sith does not feel guilt,_ he tried to remind himself, hoping to fan the flames of his previous rage. _A Sith does not feel regret nor shame._

 **A father does** , the voice whispered so low that Vader almost missed it.

Leia seemed to have sensed the dousing of his anger for she carried on. “I know why you turned. You were scared— you thought you were going to lose our mother. You bargained with the Devil and your soul was the price. But don’t you see? Turning to the Dark Side didn’t save her, if anything it pushed her to her de—“

“Enough!”

Both Luke and Leia jumped at his roar, making his internal guilt double to see the identical looks of terror upon their faces. His knees almost buckled when he realised the wide-eyed, fearful expressions they now wore made them look so much like their mother had in those final moments— _I love you! LIAR! Anakin, no—_

And yet Leia truly was her mother’s daughter for she didn’t let her fear stop her from continuing her point. “You know how the story ends for when you sold your soul, do you really want us to follow your lead?”

“I know there’s good in you,” Luke, who’d been quietly observing his sister’s interaction with their father, finally took a deep breath in and spoke. He’d never been nervous around his father before but there was something about this conversation that felt so akin to walking on eggshells that made him cautious. “I can sense it inside of you. Mom believed there was good in you and I do too.”

The comment about Padme made Vader want to simultaneously break every object in the chambers and scream at the same time.

“Dad,” Luke stepped forward once again. “Please. Give this up. Stop with the crusade for darkness.”

“It is too late for me, son.”

“No,” Luke shook his head wildly. “It isn’t! We can leave Bespin— we can go somewhere where the Emperor won’t find us, we can—“

“As I said, son: your naivety has no limits.” Everything Luke was saying sounded so tempting. The rush of power in veins no longer thrilled him. And yet the manacles of the Dark Side tightened around his wrists and he knew it was futile. He’d made his decision sixteen years ago— he had to live with the consequences now. “Running would only delay the inevitable— something you should know better than anyone, son.”

Luke sighed, taking a step backwards. “I see,” there was a sadness in his voice that sounded so out of place. Vader hated to hear it. “Well, just as Leia said: we won’t turn. You so much as try and you’ll lose us both.”

The words opened up a deep wound, a fear that always lingered in his mind being exposed. The thought of Luke and Leia’s deaths were utterly unacceptable. He wouldn’t allow it to happen. He _couldn’t_ allow it to happen.

And yet he couldn’t stand the thought of them running off into the Galaxy yet again, unprotected and at the mercy of the traitorous Jedi . . . They were safer with him, more than they realised.

 **Are they?** Vader pushed the voice from his mind, refusing to let the darkness overpower him. Perhaps there would be a way for his dream to be achieved that didn’t involve the twins selling their soul to the Sith? Maybe they could defeat Palpatine as a mixture of Light and Dark? Maybe it would do well to have those tapped into the Light on the Imperial throne?

Vader was sure they could find a way to come to an agreement. An agreement which kept them by his side and not in the hands of his enemies.

“I will not tolerate any more trivial discussions,” he hated how cold the voice modifier made him sound. “I will not force you to join the Sith should you not wish it.” That had both Luke and Leia pause, sharing a look of disbelief before Vader carried on. “However, your misguided attempts to escape my presence will end now. You shall leave Bespin with me—“

“You can’t _make_ us come with you!” Leia’s anger returned at full force.

“You may believe that if you wish. However, if you want Solo’s freedom to be upheld then you will do as I say. If not, then that criminal you deem a friend will find he never sees life outside his cell’s four walls ever again.”

That had the twins shutting up. Vader almost smirked as he looked at their identical shocked expressions, knowing he’d backed them into a corner. It wasn't ideal but as he’d said before: the ends justified the means. He just wanted to take his children home, to end their petty runaway attitudes and finally put his plan of ending Palpatine’s rule into action.

Luke and Leia were staring at each other, their expressions neutral and their eyes slightly glazed. Every few seconds, one of their faces would twitch, their lips parting as if they were going to say something and yet no words came out. Vader found himself intrigued, watching as his children shared a silent language he was sure only they understood.

Perhaps he needed to offer a little more sentiment to win them over? From all his years of parenting Luke, he’d learnt that a kind word went a long way in gaining trust. And that was what he needed after all: for the twins to trust him.

“You said before that you knew why I made the decision to join the Sith,” Vader’s booming voice broke whatever silent debate Luke and Leia had been sharing, their eyes back on him. “You were correct in saying that I was scared over the idea of losing your mother. But I wouldn’t have just lost her, I would have lost _you_ , too. I was unable to live with that concept then, just as I am unable to live with that concept now.”

A small smile came across Luke’s face and he took a step forward, “Dad—“

And then all Hell broke loose. Leia jumped forward, her hand stretched out, calling to the lightsaber that rattled on his belt and broke free, shooting in the air to where she stood waiting for it. But before the metal could make contact with her palm and pose as a threat, Vader flicked his wrist, sending a gust of air in the twins’ directions.

Unbalanced, both Luke and Leia flailed their arms, letting out identical yells. Another gust from the Force, this time tugging them forwards, and the twins had no hope of regaining their balance as they fell straight into the two carbon-freezing pods that the platform rested above. A loud hiss sounded in the air, their screams suddenly cut off as large puffs of smoke shot up from the holes in the ground and then slowly, two slabs of carbonite containing two troublesome children came rising up.

Both their expressions were ones of shock and fright. But their vitals were steady and Vader supposed that was a small victory.

He’d not wanted things to progress this way but sometimes such matters were out of one’s control. He had Luke and Leia with him at the end of the day, just as he’d wanted.

After all, he’d learnt a long time ago that should Plan A fail, always come prepared with a Plan B.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know in ESB there was only one carbon-freezing pod but I had to change that in order for this idea to work :)
> 
> Sorry if there were any spelling mistakes, I didn't want to wait any longer to post this chapter :)

**Author's Note:**

> Also, in case you're interested, I've updated Back To The Future and made various changes. The plot is majorly the same but there's a few subtle differences.


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